The Muskego Public Library Board of Trustees voted on Oct. 21 against adopting a formal community-service waiver and associated background-check procedure for volunteers, after extended discussion about risks, practicality and how other libraries handle court‑ordered minors.

Board members spent more than an hour debating whether the library should accept court-ordered community-service placements for nonviolent minors, require background checks for volunteers who will be around children, or rely on existing insurance and supervision practices. Carrie Fondos, the board vice president, moved to approve the waiver; a motion to adopt the policy failed on the vote.

Trustees described three main concerns: (1) practical enforcement and paperwork burden for low‑risk activities such as dusting and shelf‑straightening; (2) whether the library — or the Friends of the Library, which supplies most volunteers — should require background checks for adults who help with programs; and (3) the scarcity of community placements available to judges to recommend for minors, which was the original reason staff proposed the waiver.

Board members said the minors the library had been asked to accept were nonviolent and locally sentenced by a municipal judge. Trustees also discussed the cost and frequency of background‑check systems in the city, noting that Raptor-style background screening was charged "per check" and that one speaker had been told a citywide implementation cost could be about $7,900 for six municipal buildings. The board did not adopt a change to require background checks or a waiver at this meeting.

Trustees and staff also described how adult volunteer activity at the library usually runs through the Friends of the Library and is staged so that no adult volunteer is routinely left alone with children; several members said most Friends-run events include library staff on site. The board asked staff to raise the concern again with the Friends' leadership and to return with any additional recommendations. Staff additionally confirmed the city attorney had been consulted and recommended the library consider waivers and background checks, but also noted the practical limits of applying them consistently in a public building.

The motion to approve use of the community-service waiver was made and seconded; after discussion the motion failed and the board took no formal action to adopt the waiver or background‑check requirement. Trustees said the topic can be revisited in a future meeting if circumstances change.

Community impact and next steps: Board members asked staff to follow up with the Friends of the Library about volunteer screening practices and to check how other nearby libraries and the municipal court handle placements for minors. The board did not direct staff to implement any new screening process at this time.