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Grantsville council tables proposed ban on combining breaks with lunch after strong employee pushback
Summary
After employees and councilors debated a proposed change to prohibit combining two paid 15‑minute breaks with a 30‑minute unpaid lunch (Ordinance 2025‑19), the council voted to table the ordinance and directed staff to poll employees and provide a cost estimate before returning the issue.
The Grantsville City Council on April 23, 2025, opened a lengthy debate over Ordinance 2025‑19, a proposed change that would bar employees from combining two paid 15‑minute breaks with a 30‑minute unpaid lunch. After multiple written comments were read into the record and council members questioned operational impacts, the council voted to table the ordinance and seek more employee feedback and a cost estimate.
Why it matters: Employees told the council they were not notified in time and said the current practice — on some schedules — of combining breaks and a lunch into a one‑hour break supports mental health and productivity for staff who work 10‑hour days. City staff argued the change is intended to standardize schedules across many shift patterns and to prevent perceived inequities between departments.
Voices from the record: In letters read by staff, multiple city employees urged the council not to adopt the change without broader staff input. "I hope that you will table this item and get feedback from city employees, especially our hourly employees," one letter read into the record stated. Another author wrote that removing the option "effectively keeps us in the building for 10 and a half hours straight, which can be both mentally and physically exhausting." City staffer Heidi told the council she had reviewed other municipalities and recommended not allowing combined breaks, saying the policy would create uniformity across departments.
Key questions and alternatives discussed: Councilors and department heads flagged practical issues including department coverage, manual payroll adjustments, retirement/pension recordkeeping (URS) and different shift lengths (8‑hour, 10‑hour, 12‑hour). Suggestions included (1) allowing department heads limited flexibility, (2) paying the 15‑minute breaks across the board as a benefit, (3) letting employees take an unpaid one‑hour lunch by extending daily shifts, or (4) conducting a formal employee poll before deciding.
Outcome and next steps: A council member moved to table the ordinance so staff can poll employees and produce a cost estimate; the council agreed to postpone the ordinance and revisit it at a later meeting. The council asked staff to return with quantified cost implications, the results of an employee survey, and options that would address coverage for critical services such as police and public works.
What to watch for: The council requested a staff report and employee feedback before reintroducing the ordinance; a future meeting will include the survey results and any recommended language revisions.
