Perry County commissioners voted Dec. 31 to change how the highway department is compensated for after-hours call-outs, moving from a guaranteed four-hour comp-time minimum to an hour-for-hour system that pays overtime when an employee has exceeded 40 hours in a workweek. The change will be implemented on a trial basis and an overtime line item will be established for tracking and payment.

Speaker 1, the meeting’s presiding official, introduced the agenda item after the personnel policy committee recommended aligning the highway department’s call-out compensation with other departments. "We're going to figure out a location where we can find them... If it works out, we won't have to revisit it. If it doesn't work out, we'll come back in and say this isn't working for this reason," Speaker 1 said.

Speaker 3 (Pam) explained the rationale: the sheriff’s office and parks and recreation currently log hours hour-for-hour and receive time-and-a-half once they exceed 40 hours; the personnel committee recommended the highway department follow that practice to reduce escalating comp-time balances and ease manual processing. Speaker 5 described the original reason for the four-hour minimum—early-morning tree removal and other hazardous night work—and cautioned about safety and fairness.

Speakers discussed payroll mechanics and Fair Labor Standards Act requirements. Speaker 4 explained that under current practice the highway department has manual comp-time processing and sometimes large comp-time accruals (Board members cited averages of about 97 comp hours per employee in recent periods). Board members expressed concern these accumulated balances leave them understaffed for road maintenance in better weather months.

After deliberation, Speaker 3 moved to adopt the change so highway call-outs are paid hour-for-hour and overtime paid when employees exceed 40 hours; Speaker 2 seconded. The board voted unanimously to adopt the policy on a trial basis and directed staff to create an overtime line item for the highway fund and to pay such overtime every two weeks.

The motion leaves open future adjustments: commissioners said they will review the policy after the trial period to assess impacts on comp-time accruals, payroll burden and road-maintenance scheduling.

Quotations in this article come from on-the-record remarks during the Dec. 31 meeting. The board referenced the "State Board of Accounts" guidance and discussed Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) compliance when considering overtime vs. comp-time options.