The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors voted Dec. 22 to close county offices on Friday, Dec. 26 and to credit employees who must work that day with one personal day to be used by June 30, 2026.

Supervisor Mark Nelson, who brought the item to the board, said the extra day would give county employees additional time with family during the holiday period and was intended as an appreciation for staff who worked through difficult winter conditions. During discussion, payroll and human resources staff warned the board about the administrative steps needed to implement the benefit, including compiling a list of employees who were scheduled or required to work that day and creating a new time‑off code in payroll systems.

Board members debated whether to treat the time as comp time or a personal day. "That was my vision behind this as well, was to be a personal day, not a comp day," Supervisor Mark Nelson said, arguing that employees need guaranteed time off rather than additional comp accruals. HR and payroll staff raised questions about shift lengths (8, 9, 12 or 24 hours), prorating and whether unused time would be paid out at the end of the fiscal year.

The chair moved to approve the closure and the accrual credit; the motion (moved by Bittinger, seconded by Nelson) passed unanimously at the meeting. Department heads were directed to work with HR to identify eligible employees and to ensure those employees coordinate with supervisors on using the personal day by June 30, 2026.

The vote finalizes an operational change for the week between Christmas and the weekend and is administrative in nature; no change to bargaining agreements or county policy beyond the approved one‑time personal day was recorded in the transcript. The board also asked staff to confirm retirement plan (IPERS) treatment and to provide any clarifying guidance to departments before payroll processing.