Cass County committee recommends raising comp-time cap for nonexempt employees

Tracy Peters, a county staff member who prepared the personnel agenda, told the Personnel Overview Committee on Dec. 15 that the county should increase the comp-time carryover available to nonexempt employees.

Peters said the proposed change to Policy 507 would move the cap from 12 comp hours (18 compensable hours) to 40 comp hours (60 compensable hours). She said the recommendation, requested by Kyle Litchi from the highway department, is intended to align Cass County with nearby jurisdictions: "40 hours of overtime they're allowed or comp time they can carry at any given time," Peters said, noting Fargo and West Fargo use similar limits and Moorhead allows 50.

The change applies only to nonexempt employees who have elected comp time rather than overtime pay. Peters said employees may change that election once each year, in January, and that the provision would affect a small subset of nonexempt staff, primarily highway operators and snowplow drivers who work heavy winter hours.

Kyle Litchi, speaking about operational staffing, said the highway department is experiencing turnover and relies on winter overtime: "We currently have 11 employees that are 1 year or less in employment," he said, describing an average years-of-service decline and saying extra comp-time flexibility would assist retention and allow staff to schedule longer breaks in summer.

Committee members asked whether double time applied on holidays (it does) and whether allowing larger comp balances could leave the county short-staffed during emergencies. One member described removing comp time in their office after employees banked too much and were unavailable during a critical event. Peters acknowledged that operational risk and departmental fit matter and said the policy is designed to apply only to employees who select comp time.

The committee moved and voted to recommend the commission adopt the Policy 507 revision as presented. The motion passed on a committee vote.

The recommendation now goes to the full Cass County Commission for consideration and placement on a future commission agenda. Staff also noted Commissioner Breitling requested policy changes be placed on the regular (rather than consent) agenda; staff said they would honor that request.