Cobb to postpone leave expiration deadline for county employees

Cobb County employees may soon receive a few extra months to use up their remaining vacation days.

In their latest bid to shore up Cobb’s ongoing staffing issues, commissioners will vote Tuesday on a proposal to push back the expiration date for county workers’ paid leave.

Typically, those hours — whether as part of employees’ regular annual leave or compensatory time hours accrued for overtime — expire at the end of each fiscal year on Sept. 30. County employees start with 13 days of paid leave per year.

But this year, per an agenda item from Human Resources Director Jim Harner, employees flush with leave time are rushing to use it up before next month’s deadline. That’s adding an extra burden for other employees to pick up the slack, he wrote, necessitating even more overtime.

County Manager Jackie McMorris said at a work session Monday the request originated from Chief Magistrate Judge Brendan Murphy.

“They are really stretched with a lot of employees who are working overtime, and they can’t take their vacation time … and then I went to my (directors) and asked them, ‘Are you all experiencing that with your employees as well?’” she said. “In fact, many of them aren’t able to take all of their time.”

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell asked whether the request would become a regular occurrence.

“I wouldn’t ask that you change (the expiration date) across the board right away. This is just kind of a one-time request, and hopefully we can get staffed up,” McMorris replied.

Harner’s agenda item indicates the measure won’t have any budgetary cost to the county.

In other business, the Board of Commissioners will consider the following items:

♦ Hiring Ioana Bovo-Nicolescu as the next director of Cobb Senior Services.

♦ A combined expenditure of up to $450,215 for roof and electrical repairs at the Cobb County jail following last month’s flooding and power outages.

♦ $153,805 for replacement of HVAC equipment at the 100 Cherokee Street county offices.

♦ $124,640 for a wheelchair-accessible prisoner transport van for the Cobb Sheriff’s office.

♦ Submission of a draft version of the county’s 2040 comprehensive plan to the Atlanta Regional Commission.

The Board of Commissioners will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta.