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Commissioners adopt transitional vacation policy for 2026 after repealing earlier document
Summary
Bourbon County commissioners repealed a previously signed vacation resolution and adopted Resolution 51‑25, a transitional policy that front‑loads leave for longer‑tenured employees, allows limited carryover for 2026, and moves the county to monthly accrual in 2027 after debate over operational impacts for staff.
Bourbon County commissioners on Dec. 18 repealed a previously signed vacation resolution and approved Resolution No. 51‑25, a transitional vacation and sick‑leave policy for the 2026 calendar year.
Speaker 3 introduced the adopted text as a temporary method to ease the county’s transition to a standardized monthly accrual system in 2027. Under the resolution, unused vacation and sick leave at the end of 2025 may carry over into 2026; employees with at least two years’ service as of Jan. 1, 2026 will have vacation front‑loaded for that year; employees with under two years will continue to accrue monthly after their six‑month probationary period. The draft sets a maximum carryover rule consistent with county policy: 240 hours (30 days).
During discussion Speaker 3 said the policy includes proration rules: employees who are front‑loaded in January 2026 but leave before later months will have their vacation payout prorated based on years of service, and may be required to reimburse the county for used but unearned time. Speaker 5 (clerk/timekeeping) explained the proration mechanism and described how departures would be reconciled by comparing the leave date against the accruals earned to that point.
Opponents said moving this item at the December meeting left employees little time to plan. Speaker 6 and other commenters said many employees already scheduled vacations for early 2026 based on prior practice of full front‑loading and voiced concern that a mid‑process change could leave staff short for previously planned time off. Speaker 4 acknowledged those concerns and noted the commission intends to use the 2026 window to transition and to revisit the accrual system for 2027.
The commission recorded verbal approval after motions to repeal the earlier document (identified in the meeting as Res. 49‑25) and to adopt the new text. The clerk was asked to distribute copies, and commissioners discussed mechanisms (including existing deviation processes) for addressing individual employee hardship requests.
The measure passed by voice vote and the board directed administrative follow‑up to implement the proration and carryover rules.
