Less than a week after Bradford County Commissioners proposed slashing the Bradford County Library’s budget by 50%, the county fired interim library director Rebecca Troup-Hodgdon on Monday.
Hugh Austin, a member of the Bradford County Library Board of Directors confirmed via email that
Troup-Hodgdon was fired on Nov. 18. She had held the role since August 2023 but was never named permanently to the post.
“This is a most unfortunate development and I fear it may have a ripple effect on the staff,” Austin wrote.
Troup-Hodgdon and her husband, Cory Hodgdon, a member of the library's citizens group, The Friends of the Bradford County Library, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
WVIA also called the county to confirm Troup-Hodgdon's termination. Human Resources Director Sheena Barnes said she could not speak about the matter and hung up.
Last Thursday, commissioners and residents fought over the county’s proposed $71.8 million budget for 2025, which would cut the library’s budget from $471,106 to $243,666, representing 0.33% — less than half of 1% — of the county's overall budget.
Commissioner Doug McLinko last week told library supporters and staff he is “disgusted” by outcry over library cuts. He threatened to withdraw all county funding from the library, which would be turned into an independent nonprofit.
“I'm more than happy to make a motion to close that library, to restructure that budget and then open it again with new personnel. Let [the library staff] apply for jobs. You guys are not thankful for anything,” McLinko said at a Nov. 14 meeting.
McLinko and county Fiscal Director Dan Thorp repeatedly blamed library staff for not working with the county to operate under a tight budget.
“If you get a shock like that, if an agency gets a shock, the first thing they should do is come in and sit down and say, ‘Wait, wait. How can we make … this work?’” McLinko said.
Austin told WVIA that library staff met with Thorp, Barnes and the commissioners several times between August and this month to discuss the library’s budget.
Commissioners had promised residents in December 2023 that they would not make significant changes to the library until they heard back from a library consultant. That consultant would be hired through a RFP, a request for proposal.
“The library has heard much talk about the future direction and the desires of the commissioners regarding its status over the past year. It received mixed signals and no clear, direct plan of action other than to wait for the RFP which was delayed for many months,” wrote Austin.
BCL’s struggle to stay open started on Aug. 24, 2023, when the commissioners proposed its closure during a closed-door discussion with library board members.
The Friends of the Bradford County Library, a citizens' group, is holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. at the Bradford County Library, 16093 US-6, Troy.
