Staff recommends that Council approve a contract for custodial services at Billings Public Library (510 N. Broadway) with Pride of Montana, Inc., in the amount of $220,319 for a three-year term, with an option to extend for an additional two years, for a total contract cost of $378,435.
 

The Billings Public Library has been unable to reliably staff a Facilities Maintenance I custodial position since its creation in FY24, leaving a 67,960-square-foot, high-traffic public facility operating below the industry benchmark for custodial coverage. To fill the gap, the library has spent $100,817 on contract labor since FY24 and diverted Facilities Maintenance II staff from their primary duties in building systems and preventative maintenance. Staff recommends contracting with Pride of Montana, Inc. for custodial services under the existing City Hall agreement, ensuring the library receives consistent, reliable custodial coverage.

The Billings Public Library is a 67,960 square foot LEED Platinum facility and one of the most heavily used public buildings in the city, welcoming just under 300,000 visitors in the past year and millions since opening in 2014. A facility of this size and use requires consistent, reliable custodial coverage. The industry benchmark is 2.43 FTEs for a building of this square footage (reference attachment B).

The library has budget authority for two Facilities Maintenance I positions dedicated to custodial duties. In practice, full coverage has proven challenging to maintain. One position is currently filled. The second was added in FY24 and has been occupied for only approximately 17 of the past 36 months, with employees hired into the role not remaining for any meaningful period. The position has been posted since October 2025, and hiring qualified personnel has been difficult.

The result is a library operating at roughly 1.5 FTEs of custodial coverage against a benchmark of 2.43, and the gap is being filled in ways that create their own problems. Two Facilities Maintenance II employees, whose primary responsibilities include building systems, preventative maintenance, and equipment repair, have taken on additional custodial duties to compensate. This additional custodial work results in delays to the maintenance and repair functions the library depends on.

The library has also supplemented with contract custodial labor from various vendors since FY24. More recently, the library has worked directly with Pride of Montana, Inc., and has been consistently impressed with the quality and reliability of their service. Pride of Montana currently provides custodial services at City Hall and has performed well.

Given the ongoing difficulty filling the position and the demonstrated quality of Pride of Montana's work, staff is recommending replacing the vacant Facilities Maintenance I position with a contracted scope of custodial services (reference attachment A) through Pride of Montana, Inc.
 

The proposed vendor contract is estimated to cost approximately $11,000 more annually than the budgeted Facilities Maintenance I position in the initial year. This difference will be reflected in the library’s operating budget.

However, the contract includes a fixed 3% annual increase, while the FTE position is subject to higher annual cost growth due to COLA and step increases. As a result, the cost gap narrows over time, and the vendor contract is projected to become less expensive over the life of the agreement.

Additional indirect savings include reduced recruitment and onboarding costs, elimination of uniform and equipment reimbursements, and restoration of Facilities Maintenance II staff capacity for core building systems and preventative maintenance work.

The annual contract pricing is as follows:

Year	Annual Price
Year 1	$71,280
Year 2	$73,418
Year 3	$75,621
Year 4 (option)	$77,890
Year 5 (option)	$80,226

City:
City Council as the approving body
Billings Public Library administration
Library patrons and the general public

External Parties:
Pride of Montana, Inc.

Alternatives include:

• Continue posting the vacant Facilities Maintenance I position. Given sustained recruitment challenges, minimal applicant interest, and a history of turnover, this option is unlikely to resolve the custodial coverage gap in a reasonable timeframe.
• Continue contract labor at the current supplementary level. This approach has not provided consistent or adequate coverage, as demonstrated by ongoing reliance on multiple vendors and Facilities II staff to fill service gaps.