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Columbia City staff report police shift, overtime and bereavement policy updates; lateral recruitment to open
Summary
City staff reported changes to police scheduling and pay policies — including an Oct. 1 shift to 12-hour shifts, a proposed 14‑day/80‑hour overtime period, and bereavement-leave adjustments to align with 12‑hour schedules — and announced a sergeant’s resignation and upcoming lateral hiring process.
Columbia City staff told the council that the police department has implemented a shift to 12-hour schedules and is proposing policy updates to clarify overtime, pay periods around daylight saving time and bereavement leave.
Gary, speaking for the department, said the city transitioned to a 12/8-hour work schedule as of Oct. 1 and that the change has improved coverage and morale. "Officers seem to be happier with the new structure," he said.
Staff proposed a 14-day, 80-hour work period before overtime applies and identified the policy section as "4.4 work scheduling." Gary said the department has filed the appropriate paperwork with the clerk's office to reflect that work-period standard.
On pay-period rules tied to daylight saving time, staff described proposed language for spring and fall clock changes that would pay employees for the actual hours worked (7 hours for a spring-shift worker and 9 hours for the fall shift) while allowing the chief, deputy chief or a designee to offer options such as an earlier or later start, or use of personal or flex time, subject to supervisor approval.
Bereavement leave was also flagged for adjustment to align with 12-hour shifts. Gary said the draft would change qualifying day counts so that an employee scheduled under the 12-hour framework would receive an appropriate number of 12-hour shifts to cover seven consecutive days of bereavement; he said he and others ("Beth" and "Leslie" in the discussion) had reviewed the proposed language and sought minor clarifications (for example, increasing a required minimum from four to five days in one provision).
Separately, Gary announced that Sergeant Calhoun has submitted a resignation to take a private-sector job and that the department will open a lateral recruitment process with permission previously granted by the Board of Works.
No formal vote or effective dates for the proposed policy changes were recorded in the transcript. Council or clerk confirmation of final policy language and the formal effective dates were not specified during the discussion.
