Floyd County supervisors pass policy to allow donating vacation time to county employees for health leave

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The Floyd County Board of Supervisors this week approved a policy that will allow county employees to donate vacation time to other employees who have used up their available paid leave.

The policy will allow any county employee who has accrued vacation time to donate up to a week of that time to any other employee who has made a request for the additional paid time off for an unforeseen event, and who has used up all other available paid leave. Both the request and the donation would have to be approved by the employees’ department heads.

“These voluntary donations may enhance employee morale and camaraderie, increase productivity, and reduce absenteeism while benefiting an employee who is in an unfortunate medical situation,” the policy states.

Although the request for additional time and the person making the donation would be anonymous, arranged through department heads, Floyd County Auditor Gloria Carr allowed that in the environment of the courthouse it was likely that people would know who was involved.

The additional paid time off will be paid by the department of the person receiving the additional paid time off, and the additional leave will transfer at a one-to-one ratio. In other words, if an employee who has a higher rate of pay donates time to an employee with a lower rate of pay, the person who receives the additional time will get just one hour of leave for every hour donated, and will be paid at his or her usual pay rate.

The same will be true if someone at a lower pay rate donates time to someone who had a higher pay rate – the number of hours will be one-to-one and the person receiving the hours will be paid at his or her higher rate.

Carr said that in discussing the situation with the county’s insurance and financial advisors, there had been consideration of a conversion factor, such as if a person who was paid $40 an hour donated a week of leave to a person who was paid $20 an hour, the person receiving the leave would receive two weeks, but in the interest of keeping things simple the policy includes the one-to-one ratio.

She said there is a cost factor to consider, because the department with the employee getting extra leave will likely have to cover for that person’s duties, possibly by paying someone else overtime.

The person receiving the extra leave would also continue having the county pay its share of that person’s health care premium, and if the leave was for an expensive illness it could impact the county’s insurance rates.

Supervisors Dennis Keifer and Jim Jorgensen said they recognized the cost factor and that it was taxpayer money, but they also were in favor of the policy. Keifer said he would like to change the original 12-weeks maximum in the proposed policy to eight weeks, and Jorgensen agreed.

Although no names were mentioned at the meeting, it was apparent that Carr and the supervisors were aware of a specific county employee who would be affected by the new policy.

Supervisor Mark Kuhn said he was also aware of the financial considerations for the county, but there was also “t​​he fact that we want to deal with one of our employees in a very compassionate way, who’s in a situation that, if we can help, I’d like to help.”

The policy with the eight-week limit passed unanimously.

Also at the board meeting this week, the supervisors:

• Again discussed with County Engineer Jacob Page the state’s permit that would allow trucks to run at a gross weight of up to 90,000 pounds instead of the usual 80,000 pounds on state roads and on county roads that counties approve. The permits will cost $500 per year, and part of the revenue will be shared among all the counties that participate.

Page said he would like to designate at least one road so the county can share in the funds, and suggested the Quarry Road and 185th Street which goes from the Avenue of the Saints past Valero Renewables ethanol plant and back to the Avenue. That road is paved concrete and there are no bridges, he said.

Page said that currently all the county’s bridges are rated at 80,000 pounds – except for those with lower weight limits – and they would have to be reinspected to be rated at 90,000 pounds.

The supervisors discussed whether the heavier trucks would cause quicker wear and damage to the county’s roads, but also recognized that the Iowa governor regularly issues harvest waivers and other waivers that are in effect for a significant part of the year allowing heavier trucks.

The board will again discuss and may take action on Page’s proposal at its meeting Monday morning.

• Again discussed the issue of heating in the courthouse as part of the renovation project currently underway. The board members agreed that the situation is improving, but declined to sign off on two electrical heaters that are intended to be part of the heating system for the ground floor so they could begin to be used, because once they are signed off the warranty period begins.

The board agreed to have a propane tank refilled to continue supplying supplementary heat that is being blown into the ground floor.