Most of us assume a library board meeting is going to be rather bland, but that has not been the case over the past few months at Phillips Public Library board meetings as books have been challenged and a budget has been approved.
At the last regular library board meeting, a budget was passed, which faced some support and some scrutiny in the public eye. Even though a subcommittee was formed and the board approved the budget, Becky Steinbach, the vice president of the library board, felt Becky Puhl, the library director, has gotten the brunt of the scrutiny. Some members of the public were stating that Director Puhl had a hand in passing the budget, which included a raise for her and her staff. The library director does prepare various budgets and present them to the library board. The library board votes to approve a budget.
Becky Steinbach called the special meeting for two main reasons. First, she wanted the board to consider making a statement that the budget was voted on and approved by the board to remove the target off Director Puhl. She stated there was a social media post that she felt needed to be addressed, as well.
Bruce Marshall, a long-standing library board member, asked if he could see the post, and Becky Steinbach passed out a social media post which was made by Scott Hueckman on both his personal and business Facebook pages. Scott is the husband of a board member, Meredith Hueckman.
The post made by Scott Hueckman on October 27, 2022 is as follows:
"Tonight, Becky Puhl, the Phillips Library director was awarded a 9% raise to $63,384 per annum. It was a raise of $5,232.24 (per annum, not including the addition variable costs that are incurred with a higher salary---paid by YOUR local tax dollars).
Meanwhile, the board cut the book budget from $32,000 (per annum) to $23,000--Becky Puhl creates and maintains the library budgets, which are then approved or disapproved by the board. To connect the dots, Becky Puhl suggested that SHE receive a substantial raise by cutting the book budget, which she received. There were other cuts to material, supplies, and media, while other raises were given.
Imagine a library that has $330,000 yearly budget and only $23,000 of it is spent on books! You can stop imagining---it exists in your town.
Furthermore, in 53 libraries in the IFLS More Library systems, during 2020 and 2021, our library was shut down more than any other library in the system. The MORE Library systems are in west central Wisconsin and includes Eau Claire (3), Chippewa Falls, and Hudson. It also includes Ogema and Ladysmith and other local libraries, primarily to the west. Of the towns and cities, Phillips has one of the smallest populations and is in the lower 1/3 of the circulation of all of the 53 libraries. Yet, with this raise, Becky Puhl is the 11th highest paid library director in the system.
Becky Puhl received a large raise, while being quoted as saying (during a public meeting) she was "afraid" to go to work during the pandemic (while many other libraries were open).
Becky Pohl compared her salary to the city clerk Shelby Kosmer (desiring a similar amount). Shelby performed her duties as city clerk during the pandemic. Becky did not have the library fully open for 20 months during 2020 and 2021. All the while, her brethren from the city, the police, and other city services were fully open. Yet, she and others received full pay during all of those months, all while the circulation of the library plummeted.
But wait, there is more!!!
Becky Puhl gave herself the largest dollar raise out of any other employee on the staff (she drafts the budgets herself). She suggested cuts of $9,000 in the book budget (and other places in the budget) and presented in the library budget a large raise for herself and received a $5,304 raise. So, 59% of the book cuts, went to Becky Puhl's salary increase.
Voting YES for this were Rebecca Steinbach, Brittany Weisrock, Galen Azbell, Laura Tomaszewski, and Mark Peterson.
I ask the citizens of Phillips and Price County to call for her resignation. Also, I ask for the county board to investigate the current board to see if there is any collusion of board member appointments (AKA Becky Puhl hand selecting her own board)."
People commented on his social media posts, both in support of and against the content of the original post.
Becky Steinbach added that further comments were made to Director Puhl at a city meeting. Becky Steinbach felt Becky Puhl was getting threats, though she clarified they were not physical threats. Becky stated, "They are attacks on her integrity, on her position, on her standing within the library, and within our community." In reviewing the audio of the Common Council meeting from November 8, 2022, My Price County did not hear any threats being made or names being called during the meeting. There was, however, a discussion by city department heads about why the library staff members were getting pay increases and keeping the excess money from their budget every year when other city workers and departments were not keeping their excess funds or getting such pay increases. It was mentioned that property taxes may need to be increased to cover city costs. Scott Hueckman's Facebook post was not mentioned at the meeting. My Price County reached out to Director Puhl, inquiring about any threats she may have received; she stated she appreciated the concern but was advised not to make a comment.
"I don't see its fair for her to continually take the heat, and I would like for the board to clarify that," Becky Steinbach said at the special meeting, regarding the scrutiny she says Becky Puhl has faced in the community.
Bruce Marshall said, "I don't think it's our duty to absolutely defend our director. I think it is appropriate to point out it's not the director's budget; it's our budget."
Further discussion went on regarding the social media post in question. Meredith clarified that she did not write the post; her husband did.
Bruce added, "I don't care if this was Meredith's post. We didn't take an oath of fidelity or loyalty to the library or to the city or to the Wisconsin Library Association or the American Library Association, or anyone else. We are here as members of the public."
The second reason Becky Steinbach called the special meeting was to propose an ethics policy for removal of a board member if a board member chose to speak out against the library board. Bruce responded, "I think it's a terrible, terrible precedent to be going after or even thinking of going after any board member....If this had been Meredith's or my post, or Galen's, or yours. Becky, you posted some stuff awhile go that I didn't agree with." Bruce was referring to a social media post of Becky Steinbach where members of the public, including board members, expressed their opinions about library matters, such as challenged books and the views of library board members. On other social media posts and at library board meetings, some members of the community called those who challenged the books "bigots" and suggested the removal of board members. Strong opinions have been shown by all viewpoints of the topic; those opinions may not have always been expressed in a positive manner.
Talking about social media posts in general, and not any one specific post, Bruce explained that when a person writes down their thoughts, they should take a day to be calmer and cooler in thought so they can revise their message to be more appropriate. "Don't exercise your right to be an idiot, whoever you are," Bruce gave as sage advice. He advised a level of civility, which he believes the library board has been doing a good job of and followed during these times of differing opinions on the challenged books. "If we can attempt not to exercise our rights to the exact extreme and be constructive and civil....We can't deal with anybody sitting out here or anybody in the public or anybody commenting on social media. We can't control what they have to say. I would strongly urge all of us to attempt not to unnecessarily create problems."
Brittany Weisrock, a library board member, said Scott Hueckman's post was brought to her attention by someone else and they were just a little surprised because, "I just saw her. I thought we were mostly okay." She added that she agrees that anyone can post what they want as it is their right to do so.
Meredith added, "One clarification. Not to be picky, but it wasn't my post." A couple board members discussed if they should tell their spouses not to post such things on Facebook. Meredith stated she did not feel it was appropriate to tell her husband what to post as he is his own person. "Like Bruce said, it is our Freedom of Speech, the First Amendment. And I'm not going to tell him [what to do], good or bad, no judgement...." To add some humor, Bruce joked, "Please don't blame my wife for me!"
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Jenny Markle, a library board member, stated, "My personal response to social media is that I ignore it. It goes away. It's emotional. It's transient. And it goes away. And the more we give credibility to it by reacting to it, the longer it lingers."
Jenny then made a motion to not make an official response to the social media post but that when the official version of the budget gets passed, as there were some budgeting errors that need to be corrected on the one they last approved, that a statement can be made on the library's website stating the board is the one who approved the budget. Her motion passed.
The second item on the agenda, conduct, responsibilities, and removal of a board member, was then discussed more fully. Becky Steinbach passed out a two-page document entitled, "Special Meeting of the Library Board 11/10/2022 - Statement prepared by Becky Steinbach, Board Vice President" to board members regarding her thoughts on if Meredith Hueckman should be removed from the board given her husband's social media post. Becky's document stated the post was "beyond the scope of what is appropriate and ethical behavior, spurred on and potentially committed by a board member. The board member spoke directly against the board's majority vote decisions and spread half-truths and un-truths entirely about the Director and Board. In doing so, this put the library employees and Director in direct line of anger, vitriol, demands of resignation, and threats. The Director has faced criticism and hatred regarding matters that are of and for the Board, including being targeted at a City Council meeting regarding the board-passed budget, as well as being questioned by a County Board member regarding this and board policies and bylaws. The board member, in spreading this misinformation, has directly harmed and acted against the board and the library itself." She further goes on to say, "If we choose as a board, we could ask for her resignation based on behavior not befitting a board member." She stated, "Meredith spoke against the board's decision during COVID as well and any board member who attempts to undermine the vote of the board after the fact is only hurting the library. Being one of the driving forces behind challenging books (and asking for their total removal in challenge forms) is also counter to board member expectations for public libraries. The board's options in this situation: -Request Meredith recuse herself from the Board -If Meredith refuses, vote to send a request to the mayor to remove her from the board -Formally remind Meredith of the expectations and ethical considerations of being a board member - Nothing; continue as is."
There was no time given to discuss Scott Hueckman's post in-depth to determine if any of the content was "misinformation." There also was no time given to read Becky's document at the meeting, but to further explain the reasoning for her document, Becky Steinbach stated, "It would be a disservice to our board, to the library, and to the library director and staff to not adopt, at the very least, an ethics policy for our board members." She felt it was inappropriate and unethical to call for the resignation of a staff member, which had occurred in Scott's social media post. Because of it, Becky was giving the resignation or removal of a board member as an option.
Bruce disagreed about forming an ethics policy. He said anyone on the board can trash another board member if they want to given Freedom of Speech. He added that he feels it is a terrible idea to exercise that right, but everyone has that right. He added there is no legal authority to do anything to a board member.
Jenny reiterated, "She [Meredith] told us herself that she did not write that post, and her husband has taken full responsibility for that post."
Meredith said, "And I did not comment when other board members or their family members did....I stayed out of it."
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Bruce shared more of his thoughts. "Just reading this post, if this post is the sort of thing you are talking about, Becky, there are mistakes in there based on what we just got done talking about with the budget and all that." He went on to say that people in the public eye do face this type of scrutiny just like when people say road workers just stand around with a shovel and don't work, but people in the public eye need to expect both praise and criticism.
Bruce suggested that if board members wanted to make their own personal statements in support of Director Puhl, they could exercise that right, but Becky Steinbach countered that her voice doesn't matter to that group of people. Bruce replied, "Then it doesn't matter to that group."
Becky said, "What about being called a 'pedophile' and a 'groomer?' Because that stuff is happening to her constantly. How can we sit by as a board and let this happen to her?"
Bruce replied, "We can have discussions as a board if we want to put something out that says we absolutely believe there are mistakes being made or evil-intended statements by members of the public and that our library director is neither a pedophile nor a groomer...I think that's probably as effective as most lawsuits over libel and slander. They cause more harm by the repetition of what's going on than by what was initially passed along. You call me a name once; if I sue you and tell you I'm suing you because you called me a name, and now we are going to put the paperwork in the courthouse and now we're going to have a trial about it, now we're going to repeat it, and it becomes more dangerous and damaging than the initial remark had I just ignored it.....What the public says, we can't control that."
Bruce continued, "I wouldn't want us to be evaluating what every board member says. It would put us into really dangerous territory....As a member of the government, First Amendment rights tie in."
The board did not find grounds for removal or make a motion for removal, and Meredith Hueckman has retained her library board position.
After the meeting, My Price County asked Director Becky Puhl, Vice President Becky Steinbach, Scott Hueckman, and Board Member Meredith Hueckman for their comments. Becky Puhl and Becky Steinbach chose not to comment. Scott Hueckman stated he maintains that the board could not refute any facts in his post. Meredith Hueckman stated, "During this review process [of challenged books], the library board has reviewed over 30 children's books that have been challenged by parents and community members for age-inappropriate material. I have not voted to ban any of them, but I believe many should be moved to a more appropriate section in the library. Many have age-inappropriate material, including graphic sexual illustrations and content, anti-white racism, and anti-police propaganda. All of our challenged books had been shelved in the children's section of our library, making them accessible to elementary-aged children 0-12. A 7-year old can visit the library alone and check out any and all of these challenged books without a parent or adult present. I will continue in my efforts to protect the children of our community from inadvertent exposure to age-inappropriate and/or obscene material."
The meeting also brought about discussion of the existence of bylaws and a new Public Comment Policy. As of right now, no one is aware of any bylaws, and the board is considering adopting some in the future. As for public comments, they will now have a 30-minute window and a 3-minute time limit per speaker. There will be a sign-up sheet before the meeting, and the public will speak in the order in which they sign up. The board expressed that written comments are also welcome one week in advance of the scheduled meeting.
The next board meeting is Tuesday, November 29, 2022 at 5 p.m. in the City Council Room at the Municipal Center. While the agenda has not yet been posted, the last challenged book will be discussed with action taken. This book is entitled, "It's Perfectly Normal." The book was purchased by the library in Summer 2022, but it was first published in 1994, though it has been updated since then with new information. It has won many awards but has also faced much criticism. According to the American Library Association, this book has been one of the most frequently challenged books for the last two decades. These book challenges are not unique to Phillips and have been seen across the country. "It's Perfectly Normal" contains images that some find to be sexually-graphic and others feel are educationally-appropriate. The book is listed for ages 10 and up.
My Price County / My Northern Wisconsin could not find one good, unbiased source for our readers to review this book. It is available at the Phillips Public Library for review. We also randomly found some images and text from the book on the Internet. Some are partially blurred or blacked out, though they are not blurred or blacked out in the book. Some readers may find the following links and their images offensive. Click the links at your own discretion.
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