The Board of Selectmen has put an end to comp time payouts to town employees.
Under a new policy approved Tuesday night, non-union employees will have to use up any compensatory time within 90 days of the end of the fiscal year. They won’t be able to get paid for unused time if they leave their job.
The policy was drafted after town officials realized the Chief of Police had accrued almost 11 weeks worth of comp time — which could have cost the town up to $20,000 if he suddenly retired.
The new policy creates stricter guidelines.
All comp time requests must be approved first and the comp time will be reported to the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance.
“It absolutely has to be tracked,” said Selectman W. Kurt Miller. “And if it’s not submitted with that week’s time sheet, it’s forfeited.”
The rules apply to the following non-union employees: the chief of police, the library director, the public works director, the first selectman’s assistant and the finance director.
Although the police chief’s position was listed as one of the eligible employees, current Police Chief Michael Metzler will not be able to receive any more comp time under an agreement he made with the Board of Police Commissioners last week.
First Selectman Paul Roy said the police chief’s position was left in the comp time policy in case a future chief of police negotiated comp time into his contract.
First Selectmen Paid Time Off
Also approved Tuesday was a policy that outlines how much time the First Selectman receives in paid time off.
The position is not eligible for comp time because there are no set hours.
However, under the new policy, the First Selectman will be eligible for 160 hours each year in paid time off, not including holidays.
Those hours cover any time the first selectman is out of town and unavailable — times when the deputy first selectman would step in and be in charge.
The hours are able to be carried over each year, but only 80 hours can be cashed out at the end of the First Selectman’s service.
