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Commissioners debate highway department hours, Friday staffing and holiday pay practices
Summary
At a Lee County Commission work session, commissioners discussed staffing the county engineering and administrative office on Fridays and debated leave and holiday pay practices related to the highway department's four‑10 work schedule.
Lee County commissioners spent a significant portion of their work session discussing highway department work schedules, staffing on Fridays and related personnel policies.
Commissioners reiterated a long‑standing arrangement in which highway road crews work four 10‑hour days (commonly Monday–Thursday), a schedule some commissioners and staff said helps recruit and retain workers. At the same time, commissioners raised concerns about public access to engineering and administrative services on Fridays and whether the county should require additional staffing so customers and contractors can obtain plans and permits on that day.
Staff (Justin) described a rotating schedule proposal intended to keep the public office staffed on Fridays: some employees would work Monday–Thursday while others would rotate Tuesday–Friday, ensuring at least one administrator and an engineer are available on Friday. Commissioners asked staff to present the staffing plan in more detail. No vote or formal policy change occurred; commissioners largely agreed not to alter road crews’ four‑ten schedules but to address administrative coverage and possible adjustments to holiday and leave accounting.
On leave and holiday pay, commissioners debated whether vacation and sick leave calculations should be changed from charging 10 hours for a day off (to match the 10‑hour workday) to an 8‑hour day for accrual and leave use. One commissioner suggested vacation and sick leave be adjusted to 8 hours to improve fairness for employees who do not work 4‑10 schedules; others counseled caution and noted a need to balance total hours worked and holiday pay rules.
Commissioners also noted two recent resignations from county employment (one departed the prior week, another at the end of the current week); speakers clarified those resignations were not being attributed to the scheduling discussion. Several commissioners emphasized the importance of not disrupting highway road crews’ schedules, while agreeing to pursue administrative staffing adjustments so the public can access engineering services on Fridays.
Ending: Staff were asked to return with a concrete staffing proposal for engineering and administrative coverage on Fridays and to provide options for how leave and holiday pay could be handled under the current schedules. No formal motion, ordinance or vote was recorded during the work session.
