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Council debates whether to require exempt employees to track hours; no vote taken
Summary
Council members discussed a proposal to require salaried (exempt) employees to record hours worked. Supporters framed it as a transparency and workload‑management tool; opponents called it micromanagement that could hinder recruitment and retention. The item was discussed at length but no formal motion or change to policy was adopted.
Council members on Tuesday debated whether exempt (salaried) municipal employees should be required to track hours worked, but the council did not adopt a policy change.
Council member Michael Riley introduced the issue as a means to increase transparency and monitor workloads. “I don't like the potential for 1 of my constituents say, you know, how many hours did this person work last year? I don't know,” Riley said, adding that time tracking can help identify burnout risks and staffing needs.
Supporters said project‑level tracking could highlight departments with sustained overtime and inform hiring decisions. Alderman Worman urged a project‑based approach rather than minute‑by‑minute email monitoring: “I would think that instead of this being something where you would track all of your time, doing, like, a punch in, punch out, I think this needs to be more project related.”
Opponents said mandating punch‑clock style tracking risks micromanaging trusted, salaried staff and could harm morale and recruitment. Alderman Giles said he had asked former employees why they left and that micromanagement had been a recurring reason; he said he would not support mandatory hours tracking for exempt staff.
Council members proposed compromises: pilot projects, project‑based time reporting for specific deliverables (for example, major budgets or one‑time grants), or voluntary tracking for employees who want to document comp time. Several members emphasized the need to define goals and how council would respond if tracking showed sustained overtime — since the current budget limits new hires.
Next steps: no vote was taken. Council members asked staff to consider how a project‑based approach might work and to return with recommendations later in the budget process or as part of strategic planning.
