Police Chief Michael E. Metzler will lose his stockpile of comp time if he doesn’t use it before June 30 — and he can no longer accrue comp time in the future.
That’s what the Seymour Board of Police Commissioners decided Thursday night, after a lengthy executive session on Metzler’s 413 accrued comp time hours.
To get all the hours back, Metzler would have to take off every day from now until June 30.
It’s not something he plans to do, Metzler said.
“I’ll take what I need, when I need it,” Metzler said after the Police Commission meeting Thursday. “It could be one day. It could be 10.”
Metzler otherwise declined to comment on the issue.
Controversy
The comp time controversy has been brewing since January, when police commissioners questioned how Metzler had accrued so much time over the years.
Commissioner Frank Conroy, at the time, said he figured Metzler just wanted to get paid for the comp time upon retirement.
The accrued hours amounted to about $23,000, according to police commissioners’ calculations.
In January, commissioners questioned the legitimacy of some of the comp time hours during — including entries that pegged Metzler at a Board of Finance meeting on a Sunday, or entries where he asked for comp time on days he took time off.
Despite those initial concerns, the board approved all 413 requested hours in its decision Thursday.
Commissioner James Simpson declined to comment on the initial concerns, saying only the decision was a “win-win.”
“If you look at his time, he does not take a lot of his comp time,” Simpson said. “So this is a win-win for the town.”
Lucy McConologue said the discussions with Metzler made it very clear he would not receive any more comp time in the future.
“We certainly feel he’s giving a lot back on this,” McConologue said.
Moving Forward
First Selectman Paul Roy is working on a proposal for new comp time guidelines throughout town, which he expects to be in place by July 1.
The Board of Selectmen is scheduled to discuss the proposal at its next meeting.
“There are changes about who gets comp time, and how long you have to take it,” Roy said about the proposal.
