Goshen Board of Finance: Library Director Hiring in Focus
11/19/25, 7:30 PM
Present: Chairman Ned Bixler, Paul Collins, James Korner, Scott Tillman, and Lorraine Lucas; Excused: Robert Valentine; Alternate Members: Patrick Reilly and Robert Layer; Others: First Selectman Seth Breakell, Library Board Directors members: Henrietta Horvay and Patricia Sanders; and former Library Board of Directors members: Josephine Jones and Johanna Kimball.
Bixler welcomed new member Lucas and alternate member Layer. A motion was made by Collins, seconded by Korner, to seat Layer for this meeting. The vote was unanimous.
Bixler noted that the town has received a grant to cover early voting expenses and, while the expenses will remain on the budget, the grant will help defray costs with offsetting revenue. More broadly, Breakell noted that most budget line items were reasonably close to what is expected at this time of the year.
There was a continued discussion of the Bare Hill Road paving project and associated costs, particularly as $100,000 was taken from road chip-sealing to help fund that paving project. While the stated cost was $195,000, Breakell noted that cost did not include work completed by the town’s Public Works department, work that would have pushed the total cost higher. He noted that he is working with Supervisor Garret Harlow to develop a tracking system for the use of Public Works employees on such projects, as those costs should be included in the “total cost” of any given project.
In that context, Korner noted that the costs of maintaining unpaved roads, such as Bare Hill, traditionally included only the cost of materials but a more accurate cost also would include the expense associated with the use of town employee time in maintaining such roads. Such an effort at total cost analysis would aid in the future decision process of maintaining versus paving currently unpaved roads and enable the Board of Selectmen to have a more accurate comparison of using town employees or outside vendors to maintain unpaved roads.
That was followed by an extensive discussion of the status of the hiring of a new library director. Members of the Library Board noted the importance of hiring a qualified and experienced director to lead the library, which provides services to the Goshen community.
Within the current budget the salary offered was just under $48,000, which was viewed as appropriate according to the Randi Franks Salary Matrix but insufficient to attract qualified applicants. It was noted, however, that the input to that salary matrix was for a recent graduate with limited experience and that using the appropriate job description would suggest a meaningfully higher salary; another survey reported experienced library directors for small town libraries in Litchfield County earning in a range of $54,000 to $92,000.
Following consideration of this data, the Board of Finance indicated their support for Breakell and the Library Board to increase the salary range for a qualified library director.
