Williamson County HR director proposes vacation accrual overhaul to improve recruitment; committee asks for impact study and draft resolution for May

Claire, Williamson County's HR director, presented proposed revisions to the county's vacation accrual and leave policies intended to improve recruitment and retention.

Claire said the county recently updated its compensation philosophy to be more competitive and provided commissioners a packet comparing Williamson County with peer governments. Lisa Nalaka, a staff member who compiled the research, outlined the main changes: reduce the current five‑tier vacation structure to four tiers; add two personal days available after an introductory/probation period that would be "use or lose" with no payout or carryover; increase early accrual rates for employees in the 0–4 year range to make the county more competitive for mid‑career retention; and expand bereavement eligibility to include stepchildren, stepparents and similar relations.

"It adds limited flexibility for new employees within controlled parameters, and it applies proactively under existing caps," Nalaka summarized. Claire described operational controls: accrual is based on hours worked, payroll counts hours monthly and an employee must work a minimum of 120 hours in a month to earn that month's accrual, and supervisors retain approval authority for leave.

Christy Borden, telecommunicator director for the county 9‑1‑1 center, told the committee the center has lost employees to neighboring employers with more attractive leave packages and supported granting additional leave to aid recruitment and retention. "We've had so many people come in and they have nothing for that first year," Borden said, adding consultants at Mission Critical Partners noted the center is among the lowest in leave taken compared with peers.

Committee members asked multiple implementation questions: whether new hires could receive credit for prior, applicable experience; whether the county should front‑load vacation versus accrual; the fiscal impact on departments that have limited overtime budgets; and how a buyout program might change long‑term liabilities. Claire said crediting applicable experience is possible in some cases but requires strict, tight criteria and caps; she recommended an analysis with department heads on operational impact and modeling of phased or capped approaches.

Commissioners agreed HR should draft a resolution for consideration in May and perform the requested impact study on how changes would affect operations and how prior experience would be counted for vacation credit. No formal vote on the vacation‑policy package was taken at the meeting.

Next steps: HR will return to the committee with impact analyses and proposed implementation options; a draft resolution will be prepared for the May committee meeting.