Marshall County adopts admin‑code changes capping exempt compensatory time at 200 hours

The Marshall County Fiscal Court on July 16 approved Ordinance 2026‑06, an amendment to the county administrative code that establishes a 200‑hour cap on compensatory time for exempt employees and clarifies compensatory‑time usage and retirement‑notice requirements.

Pagel read the proposed changes during the meeting’s second reading. Key amendments include: defining exempt employees and capping compensatory time at 200 hours with no monetary payout at separation; requiring employees currently above the cap to reduce balances by taking a minimum of two days per month until under the cap (absent emergency); allowing compensatory time to be used in 15‑minute increments with department‑head approval; adding a 90‑day written retirement‑notice expectation for employees who participate in county retirement systems; and updating the county’s drug‑free workplace testing language to reflect recent changes from the labor cabinet.

Commissioners discussed operational concerns, including the effect on mission‑critical departments that cannot easily schedule time off and possible retirement payout budgeting. Several members said the cap helps the county avoid large unplanned payouts and noted it does not affect hourly employees, who are subject to an existing statutory cap. After discussion, a motion to adopt the admin‑code changes passed by voice vote.

The court did not provide a roll‑call vote tally in the transcript. Members requested that affected departments manage comp‑time reduction to avoid service disruptions and asked staff to monitor implementation.