Board approves amended ordinance allowing Hendersonville fire chief to preserve excess vacation hours through 2026

Hendersonville’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Sept. 23 approved an amended budget ordinance addressing excess vacation carryover for Fire Chief Scotty (Scotty) Bush, allowing him additional time to use accrued hours and specifying how unused excess would be handled.

The measure, Ordinance 2025-16 as amended, passed on final vote 10–3 after an extended discussion of precedent, personnel policy and potential fiscal impact. The adopted amendment (offered by Alderman John Robertson) preserves Chief Bush’s 349 excess carryover vacation hours and gives him additional time to use them; hours remaining above the city’s maximum allowance after the extension will convert to sick leave for years-of-service credit rather than producing an immediate unilateral cash payout at adoption.

At the outset of the item Alderman Lance Evans moved the ordinance as originally written, which would have allowed the chief to be paid out for excess hours at separation; several aldermen and staff asked for changes to align treatment of this case with longstanding city policy. Alderman Robertson proposed an amendment that honored a previously discussed agreement between the mayor and Chief Bush by extending the deadline for use and directing any remaining excess after that date into the city’s sick-leave service-credit mechanism. The board approved Robertson’s amendment by an 8–4 vote, and the final amended ordinance passed 10–3.

City staff provided background and a timeline showing that prior city practice and individual exceptions had led to the current accumulation. Planning/finance staff said chief-level carryovers had been permitted in some earlier, individual circumstances and that management had approved extensions in prior years; staff also cautioned that the dollar amount of any eventual payout depends on the chief’s pay rate at separation and could increase with raises.

In staff comments to the board, Finance and Human Resources noted that the payout for the chief’s excess vacation hours at his current hourly rate would be approximately $30,125 (staff caveated that the figure could change with salary adjustments). Staff also noted that Chief Bush has accrued substantial sick leave and that, under city policy, half of accumulated sick leave for employees hired before 1997 is payable upon retirement; staff estimated that portion at roughly $195,800 at current pay rates.

Chief Bush and supporters described long-term service constraints—staffing shortages, pandemic-era demands and leadership responsibilities—that limited opportunities to take extended time off. Bush told the board he had used vacation in multiple recent years while managing major events and training and said he believed prior practice justified his request. Opponents, including Alderman Robertson during debate, warned that approving a special payout for one employee could prompt similar claims from other city staff and set a precedent the city could not sustain.

Alderman Evans, who sponsored the original ordinance, defended the measure as recognition of long service and a practical resolution to a personnel issue, saying payment “is the right thing to do, given his commitment and service to the city.” Alderman Robertson said his amendment was intended to treat employees equally and to honor an agreement to allow the chief time to use his accruals before any special payment.

The ordinance as amended instructs administration to allow Chief Bush to use the preserved carryover hours through the extended deadline and then to convert any remaining excess into sick leave for years-of-service credit; it also authorizes the budget amendment necessary to reflect the fiscal impact when applicable. The ordinance passed final reading by a 10–3 vote; Aldermen Evans, Collins and Burgdorff voted against the final version.

Board members asked staff to provide clearer, written protocols to prevent similar ambiguities in the future and to document any future carryover exceptions in writing at the time they are granted.