Roosevelt County commissioners debate pay rules for staff attending New Mexico Counties conference

Roosevelt County commissioners discussed how to compensate county employees who want to attend the New Mexico Counties annual conference in Clovis during a recognized holiday (Juneteenth).

S2 introduced the item and asked S7 (Mary) to summarize the schedule. Mary (S7) said affiliate meetings and workshops run through the week and that Thursday is a recognized holiday. S8 advised the board that employees automatically receive eight hours of holiday pay for Juneteenth and recommended paying additional compensation only for job-related classes and breakout sessions actually attended, not for social events or luncheons that do not include substantive work.

S8 explained, "I would recommend that you pay them for the classes and activities that are job related that they attend while they're there," and clarified that the eight hours of holiday pay "does not count toward hours worked" for overtime calculations.

Commissioners debated whether to pay extra on top of holiday pay if an employee chooses to attend conference sessions rather than taking the day off. They reviewed the conference schedule (three 3-hour class blocks in some days) and noted that employees who attend all sessions could generate overtime on Monday and Tuesday, depending on hours already worked.

S4 suggested that department heads should manage travel decisions and budget transfers and that the commission does not need to micromanage individual attendance requests. The board agreed to leave logistics and budget adjustments to department heads and to postpone formal action at the commission level.

The motion to delegate the matter to department heads was made and carried; no county-wide compensation policy was adopted at the meeting.