Benton County staff report rising overtime costs despite flat hours; comp-time liability discussed

County staff presented a comp-time and overtime report covering trends since 2018 and a more detailed accrual review going back to February 2024. The presentation showed an increase in dollars paid for comp/overtime in the 2020'23 period even though the number of hours recorded remained relatively steady.

Presenters said comp time is commonly accrued by exempt employees (for example, social workers) who receive hour-for-hour compensatory time rather than time-and-a-half pay. Staff emphasized that some of the dollars shown reflect prisoner-custodial and sheriff-related pay: for 2025 the presentation cited roughly $527,000 for prisoner custodial and $288,000 for the county sheriff category.

Commissioners and staff discussed preapproval practices; staff said overtime and comp time should be preapproved by department heads except for occasional exceptions, and that caps vary by unit because of labor negotiations. One commissioner noted the county carries significant accrued liabilities (discussed in the presentation as more than $3,000,000 when peak vacation, sick leave and severable pay are combined) and asked whether hiring additional staff would reduce overtime; staff declined to guarantee reductions, citing unavoidable coverage needs (vacation, FMLA, emergency response). The board asked staff to provide a summary of comp-time caps and accrual rules by department so commissioners could better understand exposure and policy differences.

No formal action was taken; commissioners asked for additional written detail and department-level summaries.