CAIRO — Roddenbery Memorial Library is expanding its board of trustees for the first time in 75 years.

A proposed agreement between the Cairo City Council, Grady County Board of Commissioners and Grady County Board of Education would expand the board of trustees to seven members and also shorten trustees’ terms from five years to three.

City council members approved the proposal Monday night.

An existing agreement dating back to 1944 allows the city council, county commission and school board to select one member each to serve a five-year term.

Under the proposal, the board of trustees would add four new members — one selected by each governmental body. An additional trustee would be selected by the board members themselves.

“Our thinking there is if we would like to balance the board, maybe we don’t have enough females or maybe we don’t have a minority, to give the board more balance,” said Tom Lehman, chairman of the library’s board of trustees.

Trustees would not be able to serve more than two consecutive terms. Additional terms may be served following a three-year period of absence.

State law mandates that the terms be staggered.

If the proposal is put into effect, the county would appoint a new trustee to serve through Dec. 31. The school board and city would appoint new trustees to serve through 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Plans to expand the board of trustees have been discussed for a number of years, Lehman said. A specific plan to expand to seven members has been in the works for at least a year.

Lehman’s term as the city’s representative on the board of trustees expires Dec. 31. He has previously represented the city on the board for two terms between 1990-99 and again for two terms beginning in 2010.

“I can tell you — there isn’t going to be a fifth term any time,” he said.

That means the city will have to appoint two new trustees in December, plus approval of the trustee selected by the board.

“You’re going to have your voice in three of these representatives for the library,” Lehman told the city council.

Terms for the trustees already representing the school board and county expire in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

The proposal now requires approval from the county commission and school board.