County Court Reviews Employee Leave Policy and Approves Training Course

The following are a few more items from the Fayette County Commissioners Court meeting held last Monday, Nov. 24.

The Court approved a request from Fayette County Emergency Management Coordinator Angela Hahn to attend a Mass Fatalities Incident Response Course this month in Austin. Hahn said the class is the last course she needs to complete an Advanced Professional Development Series.

Also at Monday’s meeting, Jacquelyn Kohleffel of the County’s human resources department asked the Court for guidance on the administrative leave policy for County departments.

“It’s my understanding that administrative leave was brought in during COVID and has been used since then for things other than, I think, the initial intentions,” Kohleffel said. “For instance, the closing of the courthouse offices for the Halloween trick or treat around the square. We were asked to move our cars around 3 o’clock because they were closing the square. And the Judge had sent out an email that we were able to just close if we needed to close down.

Kohleffel said other offices, such as the Tax Assessor- Collector’s Office and the County Clerk’s Office, could not close without advance public notice since they are open to the public.

She asked the Court: “How do I answer a question when it comes to me: ‘Do my employees still get administrative leave even though we had to stay at work?’ Versus the ones that actually got to leave at 3 o’clock and got administrative leave?” “I really just need some clarification from y’all,” she said.

Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff suggested that the County’s employee policy committee could offer some guidance for the administrative leave policy. That committee is made up of the leaders from various county departments. Kohleffel said the committee would discuss the topic at their next meeting and return to the Court with a proposal.

The Court also took action authorizing the County Auditor to advertise a request for proposals from external auditing firms for the County’s next external audit. Commissioners then approved routine expenses and adjourned.