Eagle Pass council approves summer flexible‑leave pilot giving most employees an extra weekday off

EAGLE PASS, Texas — The City Council on May 19 approved a pilot alternative summer schedule for city employees running June 1–July 31, 2026. The program provides eligible full‑time employees with 56 hours of flexible leave (equivalent to seven workdays) to be used one day per week during the pilot period; fire suppression employees received a larger allotment (84 hours) to account for 12‑hour shift schedules.

Human Resources staff described eligibility and administration: participating departments will schedule flexible leave so that essential services are maintained; non‑participating 24‑hour operations (police, fire operations and solid‑waste collection) will have supervisors approve requests according to operational needs. Directors are responsible for ensuring continuity of services and preventing abuse; staff will measure service delivery with pre‑ and post‑pilot reports and customer‑service metrics.

Several department directors told council they were willing to try the pilot and would monitor operations during the first pay periods, with the option to revert if staffing or service impacts arose. Council members emphasized that the pilot should not reduce or interrupt public services and asked for clear enforcement metrics if employees misuse leave. Administration said staff will return in August 2026 with pilot findings, including customer‑service and attendance metrics.

What’s next: departments will implement scheduling under director supervision, HR will collect performance and survey data during the pilot and the city manager will report results to council in August.