Transfer of library employee is upheld

A seven-member board last week rejected former Euchee Creek Library supervisor John Welch's appeal of his transfer to another county post.

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County Human Resources Manager Marcia Lowry said she received a letter from the Civil Service Commission on Monday informing her that it had unanimously voted to uphold the county's decision to transfer Welch from Euchee Creek to the Evans library.

Welch requested the Dec. 14 grievance hearing after his transfer in October, contending that he had been treated unfairly and humiliated by county officials.

During the hearing, Welch told the board that county commission Chairman Ron Cross made him look like a "slacker" when he told a group of Euchee Creek patrons in September that Welch had been sleeping during work hours.

Welch countered that he only slept during his lunch breaks and that naps were not prohibited by county policies.

He said that he stopped taking naps after he was reprimanded but allowed other library employees to continue to sleep because he felt the criticism targeted only him.

The transfer, Welch said, was unjust punishment for his resistance to changes suggested by county Library Manager Mary-Lin Maner.

Maner told the board that Welch had not cooperated on suggested changes at the library, such as instituting adult programs, but that he was transferred because of a reorganization of library staff.

Officials changed the top position at Euchee Creek from supervisor to manager. That position requires a master's of library science degree, which Welch does not have.

County Deputy Administrator Scott Johnson, who also testified at the hearing, said Welch wasn't punished because his transfer wasn't a demotion and resulted in no loss of salary.

Welch said on Wednesday that he intended to appeal the Civil Service Commission's decision. Appeals are heard by the full commission, Lowry said.

In October, after Welch was moved to the library in Evans, Euchee Creek patrons attended a commission meeting to call for his reinstatement and to present a petition supporting him.

At that time, commissioners declined an offer from Cross to continue discussion of the change during closed session and allowed the transfer to stand.