Library board appointee has finance expertise

As budget troubles again threaten Spokane’s smaller library branches, the Spokane Library Board of Trustees has a new member with a finance background.

The Spokane City Council on Monday voted unanimously to appoint Cindy Weiser, finance director of the Spokane Housing Authority, to the board. Mayor Mary Verner selected Weiser after she was one of the top two candidates of six interviewed by the library board, said library spokeswoman Eva Silverstone.

Last year, library administrators proposed closing the East Side branch. The board ultimately kept the branch open after a library union agreed to a 1 percent pay increase, a raise that was less than the city had expected. Library officials warned that library reserves would be depleted this year and the branch closure likely would be considered again soon.

Weiser, 58, replaces Garry Shea, senior vice president for investments at Shea & Harley Wealth Consulting and Management. Term limits prevented him from continuing on the board.

Weiser holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Montana State University.

She said Tuesday she doesn’t have an opinion on the best path to avoid branch closure.

The five-member library board has full authority over the city’s library operations and policies.