Council updates compensatory‑time policy, limits payouts and reduces police accrual cap

The Parowan City Council on May 28 adopted a revision to the personnel policy that changes how compensatory time is managed across city departments. The resolution removes routine voluntary payouts of accrued comp time during employment (retaining the option for very rare, council‑level exceptions) and proposes reducing the maximum accrual for law enforcement from 480 hours to 240 hours.

Staff explained the change is driven by budgetary cash‑flow risk: comp time accrues as a liability on the city’s balance sheet and large payouts when employees separate have created significant cash demands in prior years. The city manager described instances where large payouts previously strained city finances and noted federal wage law affects accrual rules for small departments.

Police leadership and some council members expressed concern about optics and operational impacts. A council member relayed Chief Adams’ view that cutting the police cap from 480 to 240 felt like a benefit reduction for officers who had only recently been permitted comp time after the department reached six staff. “He feels like that’s a blow to the police department,” a council member said of the chief’s comments. Other members stressed the need to manage accruals and avoid large, unbudgeted lump‑sum payouts; several proposed managerial controls to require staff to use comp time regularly and to limit discretionary payouts.

The final language removed routine in‑employment payouts and allowed a narrowly defined exception at the discretion of the mayor or designee (staff proposed clarifying that the city manager typically serves as that designee). The resolution also set a lower cap for most employees (consistent with earlier policy) and recommended 240 hours for law enforcement as a manageable compromise. Council adopted the resolution by roll call vote at the meeting.

Staff was directed to return any clarifying policy language (for example, whether comp time must be used before vacation) if the council requests further amendment.