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In addition to a 4% across the board raise, part-time employees of the Coffee County Library were bumped to a $12 per hour pay scale.

The move, however, adjusted their pay to nearly match the pay of the longstanding, full-time employees.

To remedy this, Manchester Library Director Pauline Vaughn and Tullahoma Library Director Courtney Mercurio requested the Coffee County Budget and Finance Committee to approve an amendment to the libraries’ budgets to transfer some funds from the part-time line item to full time.

“We appreciate the $12 an hour for part-time, but (the increase) meant that they were pretty close to each other,” Mercurio said.

“My full time has been here years,” she said. “They’ve worked through pandemics. Most of them have worked 15-plus years with us. I think they more than deserve more than that,” Mercurio added.

Vaughn said that the transfer would amount to $0.24 to $0.58.

“It’s a matter of them being rewarded for their longevity and not just be a step above the part-time people,” she said.

The committee unanimously approved the transfers.