Alamance County approves revised holiday‑pay policy; board selects banked‑leave option with immediate effect

The Alamance County Board of Commissioners on April 7 voted to adopt a revised county holiday‑pay policy that allows certain employees to bank holiday leave and capped automatic payouts, and the board amended the motion to make the policy effective immediately for upcoming holidays.

County staff presented two policy options at the meeting: one that would pay holiday hours as they are earned (staff projected an annual cost of about $1,100,000) and a second option that allows emergency employees to accrue banked holiday leave and pays out only accruals in excess of 40 hours (staff projected an annual cost of about $773,000). Staff recommended the board choose and budget for one option going forward rather than retaining the current policy.

Miss York, a county staff member who presented fiscal impacts, told the board: “We are projecting an annual cost of that about 1,100,000” for the pay‑as‑earned approach and provided the $773,000 estimate for the banked‑leave option. Commissioners discussed tradeoffs between immediate pay and lower ongoing costs; some said employees would prefer receiving pay when they worked the holiday, while others emphasized budgetary savings.

A motion to adopt the banked‑leave option with an amendment to make it effective immediately was moved and seconded; the board voted in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Staff recommended that no lump‑sum payouts be made for the current fiscal year because employees already have been compensated beyond the prior adopted policy; any budget appropriation for the new policy would be part of the FY2025–26 budget process.

The board directed staff to implement the revised policy going forward and to include the chosen option in next year’s budget, with staff noting the policy would likely be funded from the general fund (possible sources discussed included lapsed salaries, though staff did not guarantee that would be sufficient).