Finance Committee approves library hires, assessor hours and plumber position 5-0

MARLBOROUGH -- October 16, 2023, Marlborough Finance Committee clears library hires, assessor hours and a new plumber slot. The committee voted 5-0 on each piece of Order 23-108938 from Mayor Arthur Vigeant, creating two non-union library positions, raising the library page rate from $10.77 to $15, moving the union senior assessor from 35 to 40 hours, granting city house workers a $2.50 hourly raise toward parity with school house workers earning $23.32, and adding a plumber at the prior FY23 head electrician rate of $34.34 per hour. Council President Michael Ossing said citywide salary accounts are running "about a half million dollars under" through September, so adjustments will be absorbed internally this year. Councilor Donald Landers called the roughly $58,000 starting salary for the new master's-required librarian roles inadequate, warning Marlborough trains employees "and then they go a couple miles east." The full council is asked to suspend its rules Oct. 23.