Unidentified speaker S2, a committee staff member identified only by transcript label S2, outlined proposed revisions to Cache County's leave-without-pay policy that would narrow the maximum unpaid absence for most circumstances and add administrative safeguards.

The committee was told the draft removes redundant references to military leave (because a separate military-leave policy already applies), clarifies jury-duty language and would allow "leave without pay" for other similar instances at the discretion of a department head or the director of personnel management. The draft adds "division manager" as an authorized approver for short spans of unpaid leave, requires completion of a new official request form, and updates COBRA notification language so employees are advised how to apply for continued health coverage.

S2 emphasized a key change: "not to exceed the leave without pay period not to exceed 12 weeks rather than 6 months," arguing that previously some employees combined 12 weeks of FMLA with up to six additional months of unpaid leave, which left departments holding positions for extended periods and created operational strain. The proposal tightens short-term unpaid leave to clarify that planned vacations should be covered by accrued personal leave time and that unpaid leave will not be granted for planned vacations except in defined exceptions. S2 also suggested changing the phrasing for very short absences to "up to 2 days" and limiting those short approvals to "not to exceed 5 days in a calendar year."

Committee members asked for clearer definitions and operational rules. S1 asked who determines the relevant "division manager" for each office; S2 recommended that each elected official or department head designate an appropriate designee in line with their organizational chart. S4 noted that supervision and sign-off practices vary between departments (for example, a lieutenant signing time sheets in the sheriff's office) and recommended allowing elected officials discretion to set local designees. Several members urged that the county define "division manager" consistently or move any structural definitions into county code so personnel policy would defer to that code.

The committee also discussed the practical effect on retirement accrual and cautioned that frequent or improperly approved unpaid leave can reduce an employee's retirement service credit. S2 said the new form and clearer guidance would help employees and supervisors avoid mistaken assumptions.

S2 said staff will "clean this up" and circulate an edited, non-redlined version of the policy for committee review; if there are no further substantive changes, the cleaned-up version would be forwarded to the council for placement on a future agenda.

The committee did not take a formal vote at this meeting; next steps are circulation of the cleaned-up draft and continued vetting of the division-manager language and exceptions.