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Commissioners review draft overtime preapproval policy; counsel flags limits on imposing rules on elected officials
Summary
In a workshop Oct. 15, Franklin County commissioners reviewed a draft overtime management and preapproval policy. County counsel said elected officials generally control overtime within their budget line items; the board discussed enforcement options and next steps.
Franklin County commissioners reviewed a draft overtime-management and preapproval policy during a workshop on Oct. 15 and discussed how the board can track and control overtime spending without usurping the statutory authority of elected officials.
County Administrator Brian Danzel presented the draft, which would require department heads or elected officials to preapprove overtime and maintain documentation. Danzel and commissioners said the policy aims to give the board better visibility over overtime that affects the county’s constrained 2026 budget.
County Counsel Jeff Briggs told the board that if overtime is paid from a line item within an elected official’s budget, the elected official generally retains discretion to spend that money until the line item is exhausted. Briggs said there is case law and fact-specific analysis to consider before the board imposes budgetary limits that affect an elected official’s statutory duties.
"If it's within a line item of an elected official's budget, they generally can control that until that line item is exhausted," Briggs said. He added that if an elected official spends beyond their line item in a non-exigent situation, the official could become personally responsible for the expense unless certain legal exceptions apply.
Commissioners discussed practical steps: asking departments to adopt their own preapproval rules, tracking overtime weekly, and requiring budget amendment requests if a department exhausts an overtime line item. One elected official who spoke during the public-comment period said their office requires manager approval for overtime and reported minimal overtime usage (less than $2,000 over five years).
The board opened the item for public comment and then closed the workshop; commissioners said the policy could be brought back as a formal agenda item in one to two weeks after further legal review and after finalizing related financial policies.
