Commissioners discuss creating FMLA bank and tightening donated-sick-leave procedures after audit guidance

Marion County commissioners discussed formalizing a donated‑time (FMLA) bank that would allow employees to donate sick leave into a central pool and to permit the commission to vote to allocate donated time to employees with qualifying needs.

A county staff member said FMLA time requires a form filed in the commission office and a vote by the commission before leave is granted from the bank. The staff member summarized auditor guidance that many historic donations had not been correctly documented or brought to the commission for approval. “A lot of it... wasn't turned in on the paper and brought before the commission to vote on them,” the staff member said.

The staff recommended requiring donations and FMLA requests follow the handbook form and be presented to the commission so the minutes document the transfer or use of donated time. The county’s auditor reportedly advised that donated time be stapled to the record of the action so future audits do not require searching through minute books.

Commissioners discussed procedural limits raised by the auditor, including that donations are limited per pay period, and requested clarifications about how donated time counts toward retirement calculations. Staff said they will return with formal procedural language and clarified that donated time must be recorded in the pay period and that the audit finding could be corrected going forward by documenting donations and commission approval.

The transcript did not record a formal adoption of new FMLA bank rules during the session; staff said they will bring the formal language back for a future meeting.