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Indianapolis Director Mielke to Step DownAfter less than three years in the position, Indianapolis–Marion County Public Library CEO Linda Mielke will step down January 15. Board President Louis Mahern said the move was mutually agreed upon by Mielke and the trustees. She will receive nearly $70,000 in severance pay as called for in her contract.Mielke’s tenure has been marked by budget reductions and staff dissatisfaction since she arrived in Indianapolis in June 2004. She inherited a $103-million Central Library expansion project that has been plagued by cost overruns and lawsuits stemming from faulty construction. The city-county council froze the library’s budget last year, which effectively reduced its spending by about 2%, resulting in the cancellation of plans to build two new suburban branches and the elimination of outreach services such as a bookmobile for seniors. In March, Mielke declined a 4% pay raise that would have boosted her salary to about $122,000, saying it “sends the wrong message” at a time when the library was cutting spending and eliminating planned salary increases for staff. Mahern praised Mielke for the “many tough decisions that she had to make over the past two years. We would never have made it through our financial crisis without her resoluteness and attention to detail.” He also credited her with centralizing collection development, boosting funding for materials, and opening additional branches on Sunday. From her hometown of Detroit, where she was on medical leave after shoulder surgery, Mielke told the December 23 Indianapolis Star that the terms of the settlement agreement prevented her from commenting on her departure. Posted December 29, 2006. |
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