Things aren't so quiet at Live Oak Public Libraries.

Employees have been speaking up about financial concerns and a hostile work environment, according to a consulting firm brought in to investigate complaints after the sudden resignation of Christian Kruse, who served as director of Live Oak Public Libraries, in April.

In a report issued Wednesday, Pinnacle Performance Solutions recommended that two senior staffers be terminated after finding that library officials mismanaged employee pay and benefits and demonstrated a pattern of harassment and intimidation.

As a result, Human Resources Director Jim Stroud and Human Resources Coordinator Scott Pool were placed on paid leave Wednesday, pending consideration of the report's recommendations by the Live Oak Public Libraries regional board.

Live Oak is a regional entity created by state legislation that consists of 190 employees across 19 branches in Chatham, Effingham and Liberty counties.

More than 70 percent of this year's $10 million budget revenue comes from Chatham, while additional support comes from Effingham and Liberty counties, in addition to Hinesville, Midway, Riceboro and the state.

A called meeting of the library board is scheduled for Tuesday, at which time the board will be asked to consider Pinnacle's recommendations, according to officials.

As of Thursday afternoon, a financial audit by Bates-Carter, a certified accountanting firm, remained open and no report had been issued.

Human resources investigation

The human resources assessment by Pinnacle Performance Solutions found that employees perceive Live Oak as a hostile work environment with a culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation. In addition, there is a vast array of grievances, complaints and issues stemming from inadequate leadership and execution of the human resources functions, according to the report that the consultant said was based on interviews with 40 employees between July 28 and Aug. 15.

Stroud and Pool were characterized in the report as contributors to the library's dysfunction, and Pinnacle recommended that they both be replaced with certified, highly experienced professionals.

Both Stroud and Pool denied the allegations on Thursday.

Stroud said the investigation was "strategically planned" and he said he will challenge the "biased" report in court.

"It was a deliberate attempt to get me out of the organization," he said.

Pool said he was targeted by the investigation after he refused to cooperate in a "witch hunt" against Stroud.

"If you go looking for trouble, you'll find it," he said. "You can manipulate things to make them say what you want."

'I needed to get help'

In June, Live Oak's regional board approved the hiring of Bates-Carter to conduct a forensic audit and Pinnacle to look into the complaints regarding the treatment of personnel.

The investigations were spurred by "numerous" complaints concerning sexual harassment, a hostile work environment and errors in payroll administration, misinformation that denied employees' rights to benefits, and violations of confidentiality, interim Director Jason Broughton informed employees in an email on June 22. While the validity of the complaints had not been determined, inaction could have serious legal repercussions, Broughton said.

"We are committed to a healthy workplace and will not rest until these issues are investigated and resolved as quickly as possible," he said.

After Broughton informed her of the complaints, Georgia Public Library Service's State Librarian Julie Walker said she also recommended the forensic audit, as well as a formal assessment of Live Oak's human resources issues. In addition, consultant Steve Schaefer was hired at Walker's recommendation to work as a temporary adviser until Oct. 1 to assist the auditors and interim director during the transition.

On Thursday, Broughton, who joined Live Oak in January after being hired as assistant director for public services, said that the issues extended back to before his arrival and that employees were apparently reluctant to talk about their concerns at the time.

"After looking at the situation I thought I needed to get help," he said.

The findings

Among the findings, Pinnacle reported that:

• Employee files were improperly maintained.

• Employees reported being intimidated into returning to work while on sick leave.

• Employees reported errors in payroll processing.

• Employees reported numerous issues were managed inappropriately and in a manner that breached confidentiality.

• Employees stated that nothing would happen if they talked to human resources and that their grievances would be "swept under the rug."

• Employees reported that senior leaders routinely intimidated them by summoning them to meetings in which there were multiple senior managers in attendance to communicate transfers to different locations.

• Employees reported being treated differently and disparagingly based on factors such as age, race, class and disability.

• Employees reported that physical and psychological workplace bullying was pervasive.

• An attempt to change payroll-processing systems was unsuccessful and produced numerous errors in payouts and deductions

• Employees reported that their benefits were not provided properly and their retirement inquiries were mishandled

'Heavy lifting' ahead

The library board recently sent out an advertisement to library employees to replace Kruse after voting in June to conduct an internal search. If the selection committee feels that the candidates fail to meet expectations, it will look outside the system, Live Oak board chairman Douglas Harn informed the board in a notice about the job posting.

"Time is slipping by and soon the Financial Audit and HR Reports will be sent to the Board with findings that will require our attention and action," Harn said.

Some employees said the environment was better since Broughton became the interim director after Kruse's resignation, while others expressed concerns about his leadership behaviors, according to Pinnacle's report.

The consultant recommended that the next director have previous library system director experience and a proven track record of effective leadership to transform the library into a high-performing organization.

Broughton said Thursday that he has no plans to pursue the position permanently and he would recommend an external search be performed. Considering the findings of the human resources report and potential issues in the pending financial audit, someone with more experience will be needed to rebuild the system, Broughton said.

"There will be some heavy lifting that will need to occur," he said.

A 'low bar'

There was at least one high-dollar issue that was attributed to the adoption of a new payroll system.

John Tuggle, the library's former assistant director of public services, was paid almost $900,000 for unused leave after resigning for another job in August last year, rather than the $14,000, according to correspondence obtained through an open-records request.

Unknowingly, the new system calculated hours rather than dollars, and the payment was reversed after being discovered the next morning, Stroud said in a report regarding the incident.

When Tuggle - who had notified Kruse of the overpayment - sent an email on Jan. 20 regarding an issue with his wage and tax statement not reflecting his leave time, Kruse replied that payroll "continues to be a bit of a mess" and he was not completely surprised by the issue.

"I was just thrilled that there were W2s," Kruse said. "See, set the bar low, no disappointments!"

Kruse could not be reached for comment.

The director is not the only position that has been vacated this year.

Three other positions may need to be filled after Kruse's departure. Karen Reichardt resigned in July as assistant director for technology and technical services; Susan Lee resigned in June as public relations coordinator; and Christy Divine retired in June as marketing and development director.