Deep in thought, Freestone County Commissioners wrestle with changing the policy of Paid Time Off for County employees during two separate meetings, with one more called for Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.
Following two meetings, each with a packed audience of concerned County employees and residents, Freestone County Commissioners are expected to finally take action on a highly debated topic this week.
The issue for County employees is whether or not Commissioners will vote to implement a new policy called Paid Time Off (PTO). If they vote in favor of adopting the new policy, Freestone County will be the first county in the State of Texas to do so.
Commissioners have discussed the topic at their September 14th and 21st meetings, but concluded by tabling the agenda item until the following meeting; set for Wednesday, September 28, 2016 beginning at 2:00 p.m. It is the hope of employees that Commissioners will finally make a vote at this meeting.
The sticky subject is admittedly difficult to understand according to Commissioners, especially when there are so many opinions being thrown around the room at roughly 90 miles an hour and tempers steadily rising.
The idea of the new policy is to combine the employees’ sick time and vacation time together, giving them a set amount of PTO days/hours per year. This way, each employee can use the time as they see fit; subsequently cutting down on the ‘dishonesty’ of sick time off usage and the need to police employees.
Currently, county employees receive six hours of sick time per month which adds up to nine days per year. These days can only be used for the employee themselves or for members of the household. Should an employee need to take care of an ailing parent that does not live in the same household for example, said employee would be required to use their vacation time for this purpose.
Vacation time is offered on a sliding scale depending on the number of years employed as a full-time worker. Each level has a set number of hours they can accrue before losing hours if they are not being used. These hours can be rolled into use for the next year.
When an employee leaves the County, they are paid for their unused vacation time up to that set amount of hours. All other vacation hours and sick time hours not used are lost at that point.
The new policy would allow for a set number of ‘sick’ hours allowed (possibly being lowered from six hours per month down to three hours a month) and still use the sliding scale to determine the amount of vacation time an employee receives. The two numbers would be combined to give a total number of PTO hours to be used by the employee during that year. When the employee retires or leaves the county, they would not receive a large check for hours that have not been used.
There are still many more details that need to be worked out before Commissioners decide to vote to change the policy, however, many County employees are very upset at the possibility of losing benefits and time they have earned.
“Vacation time should not be a savings account so an employee can have a fat check when they leave,” says County Treasurer Kay Taylor. “It’s not right.”
“So, you’re saying people shouldn’t get paid for vacation time they have earned because they have saved it up?” asks Commissioner Pct. #4 Clyde Ridge.
“It’s for vacation. They should be taking their vacation. It is not a savings account!” exclaims Taylor.
“I’m in favor of this. I have been all along,” says Commissioner Pct. #3 Bodie Emmons. “Combining the time stops the dishonesty issue and the need for policing. For people who never take off sick, they would have a few more days to use as vacation time if they choose. Use the time you have or lose it.”
“I think we need to be dealing with the abusers, and not punishing all the others for the misdeeds of a few,” claims Commissioner Pct. #2 Craig Oates. “At this point however, I’m not for or against the policy change. I think we need more time to think and discuss; and to look at numbers before we vote.”
“This hurts the people who are doing things the correct way by taking away their earned time. I think things should be left as they are,” says Commissioner Pct. #1 Luke Ward, Sr.
“I’m against this, period!” exclaims Commissioner Ridge.
“It’s not always about what’s best for the employees,” explains Taylor. “But what’s best for the County and its Taxpayers. We can’t make policies based on just some people’s issues. We have to do what’s best countywide.”
County Auditor Donna Williams weighs in saying, “When an employee leaves and has to be paid for many hours of vacation time they’ve accrued and not used, the position cannot be filled until all that time has been paid for because the money has to be in the budget to cover the costs. This in turn hurts the elected official / office holder because they are without an employee for an extended amount of time.”
In addition, there were several employees and County residents in attendance at both meetings who expressed their opinions, both for and against the policy change, as they sat in the audience. One resident addressed her concerns stating that sick time should be enforced with a doctor’s note every time, even for just one day missed.
When things started to get heated, Commissioners voted to table the issue until the following meeting.
This special called meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 28th at 2:00 p.m. in the second floor Commissioners Court room.
Other items voted on in these two meetings are as follows:
–Employees will now be required to provide proof of dependents on their insurance plans through proper documentation such as marriage and birth certificates. An audit will be done to verify all past claims of dependents and any new adding of dependents must be backed with said documentation.
–An amount was set of allowable expenditures per month by incumbent County or Precinct officers that were not re-elected… The 2015-2016 Fiscal Year Budget is up at the end of September; and the 2016-2017 Budget will begin on October 1, 2016. This policy will allow said officials to spend only 25% of the budget during their remaining time in office. If there are any emergencies where more monies are needed, Commissioners would have to vote to approve use of the money.
–Commissioners voted to approve a matching fund grant in the amount of $6,300.60 through FEMA for the Southern Oaks Volunteer Fire Department.
–Annual salaries for the County Auditor, First Assistant Auditor, and Part-time Assistant County Auditor were set as follows: County Auditor received a raise to $57,085 per year; First Assistant Auditor remained the same at $38,000 per year, and the Part-Time Assistant was decreased from Full-Time to a Part-Time position with a pay of $21,750 per year.
–Commissioners voted to keep the Burn Ban off at this time.
–Approval was given to have a joint election with the City of Streetman. Freestone County and the City of Streetman will share voting machines and employees for the November elections. In return for allowing the joint election, the City of Streetman will pay Election Day workers.
The public is welcomed and encouraged to attend Commissioner’s Court meetings which are usually held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Nicole Schaefer reporting
