Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council reviews comp‑time policy after police department exceeds five officers
Summary
City staff proposed clarifying comp‑time accrual and payout policies after the police department exceeded five officers and began accruing comp time under the federal public‑safety accrual maximum; staff signaled a desire to lower internal caps and discourage cash payouts to manage fiscal liability.
City Manager Dan Jessen told the Council that Parowan’s existing personnel policy on compensatory time needs clarification now that the police department has grown beyond five officers and begun accruing comp time, which invokes the federal public‑safety accrual maximum (480 hours). He said the City’s internal non‑public‑safety cap is 80 hours (below the federal 240) and expressed concern about potential large payout liabilities when employees separate.
Chief Addison Adams and Officer Anderson Humphries explained that officers routinely cover shifts for one another and rely on accrued comp time to take extended leave; Humphries said he had accrued more than 100 hours in under a year and was at 11 hours at the time of the meeting. City Attorney Scott Burns warned that other municipalities have faced large budgetary hits from accumulated comp‑time payouts and suggested the Council consider a lower internal cap for law enforcement and limit cash payouts in favor of leave usage.
The Council directed staff to refine the draft policy and return the item to the action agenda at the next meeting for formal consideration.
