Board approves changes to personnel and fire/EMS codes after employee objections

The Board of Carroll County Commissioners on Dec. 19 considered proposed changes to County Code chapters 36 (personnel) and 37 (fire and emergency medical services) following a staff presentation and extensive employee public comment.

Human resources director Christie Bixler summarized the package: clarify which non‑work hours count as hours worked for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, replace the county’s banked holiday leave with holiday pay (paid out rather than banked), include special holidays in the time‑and‑a‑half holiday pay policy, limit maximum accrued sick time for employees hired after July 1, 2025, update bereavement leave, and clarify progressive discipline and grievance procedures. Bixler said the changes were coordinated with governmental partners and that the sheriff wished to maintain his current holiday practice for sworn staff.

Employees from the facilities and roads divisions told the board the proposed shift from banked holiday time to paid holiday hours would reduce time‑off benefits for staff on 10‑ or 12‑hour schedules. "We want the bank days with full 10 hours, no 2‑hour donations required," said George Claybaugh, a 21‑year fleet management employee, arguing employees value the day off more than extra pay. Several other employees and supervisors echoed concerns that the change would make it harder to staff overtime call‑outs and could reduce morale.

Representing firefighters and paramedics, Mike Karolinko, president of the Carroll County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association, thanked staff for improvements to Chapter 37 (including a two‑week FLSA pay cycle) but urged removing or further studying a proposed cap on sick leave accrual because of operational and pension‑liability implications.

Commissioners debated how to balance simplification for payroll and IT against disparate effects across different shift schedules. Several commissioners proposed leaving room to monitor outcomes and to revisit provisions if unintended harms emerged.

On formal votes, the board approved the Chapter 37 fire/EMS changes first (motion passed, recorded 4–1). Commissioners then voted to approve the Chapter 36 personnel changes with the inclusion of special holidays for time‑and‑a‑half and the holiday‑pay approach; that motion passed 3–2. Staff noted that implementation—particularly IT changes—would be delayed beyond Jan. 1 and that some adjustments would likely be staged (staff estimated some changes could not be implemented until February 1 for payroll systems).

The board asked staff to keep the record open for comments earlier in the process and to monitor impacts after implementation so that targeted adjustments (including department‑specific accommodations) could be made where warranted.

What changed: the county will move from a practice of banking certain holiday leave toward paying holiday hours out under standardized rules, expand which holidays trigger time‑and‑a‑half, and set a carry‑over cap on sick leave for employees hired on or after July 1, 2025. Some grandfathering provisions were included so existing employees retain current accruals.

Next steps: staff will coordinate with IT and payroll vendors on implementation timing, and commissioners said they would revisit any operational inequities brought forward by impacted departments.