MEREDITH — A clarification of two state laws pertaining to the relationship between the board of selectmen and the town library trustees has brought an end to a dispute between the two bodies.

The dispute began in June after the library trustees sought to fill two vacant trustee positions and reclassify the job of one library employee who had been fulfilling the library’s technical needs. The reclassification to an information technology position gave the employee a substantial raise, even though the selectmen have told town departments that they can’t give large raises or reclassify employees because of the slow economy.

At this week’s selectmen’s meeting, Rhetta Colon, chair of the library’s board of trustees, told the town that the library is independent of town employee rules.

This time the selectmen agreed. The town’s research into state laws defining town departments showed that the library was within its rights to reclassify the position with the salary increase.

“We made the assumption that the library was a town department and had to follow town department rules, but state law says that if the library has a board of trustees that votes independently, it is not a town department,” said board chair Miller Lovett.

The selectmen will no longer question the trustees’ personnel moves, Lovett said.

“We have put a hold on any changes in classification for any town employee, and the board hoped that the library would comply with the rules of town departments,” he said. “But we will be supportive of the library — they are independent.”

Colon came before the board to make sure the issues had been clarified, and to present the nominations for the unpaid trustee positions. She explained that the employee, whose name was not disclosed because of personnel rules, had saved the library thousands of dollars since he was hired in 2007.

The library had been contracting the services of an outside computer firm for about $25,000 a year before he was hired, but in 2012, third-party IT costs dropped to $34.95 thanks to the skills of the in-house, technically skilled employee.

“We felt it was our fiduciary duty to retain this person in an IT position because of the savings,” Colon said.

At Monday night’s meeting, the selectmen accepted the trustees’ choices for the vacant positions and agreed to the trustees’ nomination of an alternate trustee.

The board and the trustees have agreed to improve communication as a compromise.

“We have reached agreement that we are not a town department, and we feel the (selectmen’s) meeting ended on a very positive note, despite some differences of opinion that have been expressed recently,” she said.

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Dan Seufert may be reached at dseufert@newstote.com.