The uncertainty in Albany over what state-mandated programs and services will get cut or reduced has Franklin County leaders anxious.
But that concern may be so distracting that legislators are not making wise decisions on some budget expenses they can control.
One example is within the Board of Elections, where three staff members will receive $2,600 in overtime instead of compensatory time off.
County law requires employees to take their accrued comp time before Dec. 1 or lose it.
But Election Commissioners Veronica King and Kathy Fleury say their staff earns most of its annual overtime during election season, which covers the last quarter of the year.
Because there is so much mandated work to accomplish in a condensed time period, the staff cannot take off and must take the extra income instead.
The two deputy commissioners and the remaining voting-machine technician on staff told their bosses they would rather have the time off than the cash, and the commissioners passed their wishes on to legislators.
Fleury and King asked for a three-month extension into the first quarter of the following year so the staff could use their free time.
But legislators denied the request, saying, in essence, "if we do it for one department, we'd have to do it for every one."
The rule was put in place because a past audit highlighted needed improvements to time-accrual methods.
Some long-time workers submitted comp-time bills for thousands of dollars when they retired.
They earned the comp time at a lower pay rate but retired years later at a higher pay level and were paid at the higher rate, which cost the county plenty.
That is when the Dec. 1 deadline was established.
In keeping with that policy, legislators told the election commissioners to pay the employees for their time.
King and Fleury said the staff will split about $2,600 this year.
At a time when every dollar counts, and revenue sources are being wrung for every last dime, we cannot make sense of this decision.
Employees are asking for time off and declining extra pay — that gesture alone should have made the county jump at the chance to save even a few thousand dollars.
But by focusing too much on what state leadership is going to do, local lawmakers missed an opportunity to be true leaders themselves.
They could have rewarded the staff's ingenuity and been left with happier, better rested and energized employees.
We can all appreciate any large employer not wanting to set a precedent that would be difficult to live up to if it generated many similar requests. But this one isn't likely to do that. Call it a one-time exception granted because of the peculiarities of the Board of Elections schedule.
This one would have been good for the taxpayers, good for the board and good for the employees. Instead, it's going to turn out worse for all.
Opinion
November 24, 2009
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