Gaylord council asks staff to cost out cutting sick-leave cap, weighs switch to PTO

Council members spent more than an hour Monday debating how to reduce what one staffer called an excessive sick-leave accrual cap and whether to convert the city’s separate sick and vacation balances into a single paid-time-off system.

City staff presented four options, including a committee-recommended cap of 500 hours, a proposal to pay out half the hours above a new cap, grandfathering existing employees, or a full conversion to PTO with a catastrophic-sick bank. S4 said "the personnel committee had recommended 500 hours," and explained the mechanics of the payout and conversion options.

Several council members expressed support for PTO as a simplifying change. One council member said, "I like PTO," while others warned that conversion could carry substantial upfront costs for the city and would require more detailed modeling. Council member S2 urged caution about immediate changes that would force large cash payouts: "We can't let them cash out 720 hours at the end of full price. That's gonna kill the city." (paraphrased from the meeting record).

Rather than adopt immediate changes, the council asked staff to prepare specific cost estimates for Option 3 (reducing the cap and paying out half the excess) and to prepare comparative figures for a PTO conversion, including projected budgetary impact and payout scenarios for long-tenured employees. S1 summarized the direction: the matter will return to the personnel committee after staff provides costs and comparative analysis.

The council did not adopt a personnel policy change at the meeting; members said they wanted additional financial detail before a formal vote.