Commissioners approve flex-time bank for exempt county employees

Monroe County commissioners voted on April 10 to amend the county personnel policy to create a flex-time bank for exempt employees. Under the approved change, exempt employees who work beyond required hours in a pay period may bank those hours and use them later; the flex-time bank will reset annually on April 1 and use of banked time must be approved by the elected official or department head.

Miss Turner King and staff explained the policy is distinct from comp time because flex time under this policy is not paid out if an employee leaves the county. The intent, commissioners said, is to provide relief for employees who experience short-term workload surges — for example, prosecutors preparing a major trial or new administrators doing front-loaded work after an election.

A commissioner noted the policy is particularly helpful for newer exempt staff and those in roles that require extended work periods followed by recovery time. Chief Deputy Parker, representing jail staff affected by heavy training and operational demands, thanked commissioners and staff for considering the change: “I really appreciate the work… there’s a lot of appreciation coming to the commissioners for this,” he said.

Chair moved to approve the policy amendment; the motion was seconded and passed on a 2–0 vote. Staff said a formal document with chapter and section numbers would be brought to the board at the next meeting to make the administrative change official.

What’s next: Formal written policy language and code/section references will be returned to the commissioners for final administrative adoption.