The Custer County Board of Supervisors held their final 2022 meeting on Tuesday morning, Dec. 27, at 9 a.m. All board members were present except Supervisor Doug Stunkel.

The meeting would be the last for outgoing Supervisor Don Olson, who was presented a plaque by Board of Supervisors Chairman Barry Fox and received a well-deserved standing ovation for his diligent service to the board and Custer County.

The discussion regarding the newest employee handbook for county workers lasted nearly an hour; the focus of final alterations before the handbook’s anticipated 2023 implementation was time off accrual.

A primary concern for county department heads was the perceived low cap on how much vacation and sick time an employee could earn; under the proposed policy, if an employee was unable to use enough vacation time in a given stretch, it could be possible that they would stop earning it altogether.

Calculating just how much time off, as well as how much beyond the proposed ceiling, an employee can earn, was the task before the board. Different employees are paid different wages, have been working for the county for a wide range of years, and some are salaried while others are hourly.

Ultimately, a tentative agreement was reached where employees would accrue increased vacation hours based on how long they’ve been employed with the county: roughly .04 hours per worked hour for those employed less than 6 years, about .06 hours for those employed between 6 and 12 years, and .08 hours per worked hour for those employed 13 or more years with the county.

The updated handbook was otherwise approved unanimously pending the paid time off changes, which are expected to be made official at the first meeting in January.