County staff presented a comprehensive overhaul of the paid time off (PTO) section of the employee handbook to the Morgan County Council on Oct. 6 after a committee of employees, elected officials and supervisors worked for months on recommendations.

Doree, the staff presenter for the PTO committee, told the council the committee met about six times and recommended converting PTO accruals and bereavement leave from days to hours to achieve parity across different shift schedules. "We took PTO days and made them into hours," Doree said, and the committee adjusted one officer category (12-hour deputies) so their accruals are equitable with typical 8-hour-per-day schedules. The committee also recommended supervisors be allowed to approve up to three days of unpaid leave in a 12-month period after employees exhaust paid time, and to formalize that employees must be in paid status the full shift before or after a holiday to receive holiday pay.

The draft adds compliance language for the "Pregnant Woman's Fairness Act" and for one unpaid school-conference day per year for employees with a child in school; the presenter said the committee believed the county already followed the law but added explicit language to ensure compliance. The committee also proposed setting an effective date of Jan. 1 to allow time for two readings by the commissioners, supervisor briefings and staff training.

Sheriff Rich Myers and other committee members described the process as collaborative. Myers clarified the reported change for deputies was a committee decision intended to achieve parity across departments. Councilmembers praised the committee's thoroughness and asked for time to review the exact ordinance language before any final vote; the presenter confirmed the commissioners had passed a first reading earlier the same morning but did not waive a second reading, so the council was not required to act at the Oct. 6 meeting.

Council action: there was no formal council vote on the PTO handbook changes at this meeting. The county attorney and staff said the ordinance and formal documentation would be available for a second reading at subsequent meetings and that the effective date proposed is Jan. 1.

What's next: commissioners will complete the second reading and the council and supervisors will be briefed before the proposed Jan. 1 effective date. Staff said payroll and HR systems will be updated to reflect hours-based accruals where approved.

Provenance: committee presentation and council discussion recorded between timestamps when Doree presented and council discussion following the presentation.