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Seymour council approves larger sick-leave payout and police vacation payout to reduce overtime costs
Summary
Council voted to increase the employee sick-leave payout to 59% for this year and approved paying out police vacation balances to avoid costly overtime coverage, measures the city says are within the adopted budget.
Seymour’s council on Nov. 20 approved two personnel-related measures aimed at supporting employees and reducing overtime costs.
Staff presented three sick-leave incentive payout options — 40%, 50% and 59% — and said each option fit within the budgeted sick-leave line item. Council voted to adopt the 59% payout for this year. A staff summary noted the payout is calculated on employees’ unused sick hours and is typically distributed at year-end.
Separately, Chief Brian Sawyer asked the council to authorize a payout of excess vacation balances for police officers. Sawyer explained the department operates 24/7 with one officer per shift and has limited reserve coverage; paying out excess balances avoids overtime expenses when officers’ time is covered by more senior staff. Staff estimated paying out balances would cost less than paying the overtime required to cover those shifts. The council voted to approve the police vacation payout.
Why it matters: Both actions are intended to retain staff and avoid recurring overtime costs; staff told council both items were within budgeted amounts for FY2025.
What’s next: Finance staff will implement the payouts during the scheduled year-end processing and report back on actual expenditures against budget lines.
