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Michigan City parks board approves birth‑and‑placement leave, tables major sick‑bank and holiday changes
Summary
The Michigan City Parks and Recreation Board approved a new birth‑and‑placement leave policy but voted to table several citywide employee‑benefit changes — including the proposed sick‑bank payout limits and holiday‑to‑personal‑day changes — after staff and members raised concerns about tracking, retiree payouts and grandfathering for long‑banked sick days.
The Michigan City Parks and Recreation Board on Dec. 17 approved an addition to employee benefits that creates a birth‑and‑placement leave, but delayed action on several related citywide personnel changes after members and staff raised implementation and fairness concerns.
Superintendent Shannon Eason told the board the city is consolidating departmental handbooks into a single policy framework and that Policy 3‑01 would “add the title birth and placement leave to the list of benefits.” Eason said the package includes multiple changes: removing four paid holidays in favor of three personal days and allowing sick leave to be taken in half‑hour increments, a detail she warned could create large tracking burdens for staff.
Board members focused on two contested elements. Several members objected to a proposed cap and payout change for sick‑bank days at retirement — the city proposal would limit banked sick days to 36 and change cash‑out rules — arguing long‑tenured employees have accrued those days under different expectations. “I think people, if they’re working and not taking those sick days, then they should get paid for those,” one board member said during the discussion.
Public commenter Scott Mellon, who identified himself as a Michigan City resident, urged the board to treat the changes as citywide decisions and recommended the parks board consult Human Resources for fuller explanation before acting. Mellon also recommended HR attend a future meeting to explain why the change is structured as it is.
After the discussion the board approved Policy 3‑01 as limited to adding birth‑and‑placement leave and separately approved Policy 3‑10 to provide three paid days for birth and one paid day for adoption/foster placement. The board voted to table Policy 3‑07 (the sick‑bank changes) and Policy 3‑12 (personal days and holiday conversions) for further consideration and staff follow‑up.
What’s next: Staff said they will follow up with HR and with departmental employees to address questions about grandfathering and payout timing. The board did not adopt the broader sick‑bank or holiday conversion elements at the Dec. 17 meeting.
The votes: Policy 3‑01 — approved; Policy 3‑10 — approved; Policy 3‑07 — tabled; Policy 3‑12 — tabled.
