Sacramento County Library Director Receives Grand Jury Probe

Sacramento’s public library governing board agreed to pay library director Anne Marie Gold nearly $25,000 in return for her resignation, documents obtained by The Bee indicate, and the county grand jury already has signaled that it is investigating that agreement.

The documents, obtained through a public records request to the library board, show the grand jury foreman requested details of Gold’s retirement package on Sept. 25, the same day she announced she was leaving.

The grand jury has been investigating the library and Gold’s management for nearly a year as a result of a Bee review of library finances that revealed overbilling for maintenance services at library branches.

Three people — including two library officials — were charged with felonies as a result of The Bee’s findings and the grand jury issued a report last spring saying the library board should consider firing Gold.

Instead of removing her, however, the library board approved hiring a consultant for $300,000 to study problems at the library and kept her on the job. The board also scheduled a series of closed-door meetings to evaluate her performance, including an hours-long session Sept. 17.

One week later, Gold announced at a regular library board meeting that she planned to retire effective Dec. 1, and board members praised her seven-year tenure.

At the time, the board made no mention of a severance package for Gold, who earns $149,640 annually, documents show.

But a copy of the “separation agreement” released to The Bee shows the library board agreed to pay her $24,940 - two month’s salary - and that she agreed not to pursue any legal action against the board.

The agreement was signed by Gold and board Chairman Robbie Waters on Sept. 22 - three days before she announced her resignation publicly.

The agreement also notes that “Gold’s personnel file will indicate that she voluntarily resigned from Library service.”

Gold declined Wednesday through a spokesman to discuss the agreement, and Waters did not respond to a request for comment.

Sacramento’s library system has about 300 employees in 27 branches in the county and city and two bookmobiles, making it the fifth-largest library system in the state.