WINTHROP — Municipal employees in Winthrop have been accruing more vacation hours than they are allowed, which has cost the town thousands of dollars in additional expenses, officials said.

The town’s policy stipulates employees can accrue up to 280 hours of vacation time over a number of years, and once they retire or terminate their employment, they shall be paid for the unused vacation time. But Town Manager Anthony Wilson said it has been brought to his attention that “in the past, the practice has not matched the policy.”

“I have been working with the town attorney,” Wilson said, adding the issue was brought to his attention once he took office in June. “We are trying to set a timeframe for employees with extra hours. These employees are being encouraged to take vacations and bring down these hours.”

In addition, some former employees who left their town jobs were paid for extra vacation hours they should not have accrued, Wilson said.

There are eight working employees with more vacation time collected than 280 hours, according to Wilson.

Members of the Town Council were made aware of the situation recently and all were concerned.

“First of all, people need to adhere to the policy,” said Councilor Linda Caprara. “That’s a big issue, and it’s not going to work moving forward. Department heads must make sure the policies are adhered to.”

In fiscal 2022-23, which ended June 30, three employees — including former Town Manager Jeff Kobrock, former police Chief Ryan Frost and a former deputy ambulance chief — ended their tenures. The three had collectively accrued 795 hours more than allowed and received a collective $51,253 to cover the hours.

Kobrock had accumulated 327 hours more than the vacation limit and was paid $17,659 as a part of his payout when he resigned from the position earlier this year.

Wilson said other factors also added to the situation.

“There was the (COVID-19) pandemic, and people were not able to take vacations,” he said. “I am also told we had staff shortages, which contributed to it, too.”

In the 2022-23 fiscal year, 14 employees left their positions working for town government in Winthrop. That resulted in the town spending $148,000 in payouts, compared to $40,000 the previous year.

Of the $148,000 in payouts, employees who did not accrue extra hours received $97,288 in total.

Kate Dufour, director of communications for the Maine Municipal Association in Augusta, said vacation policies, like any policy, should be tailored to a community’s expectations and reviewed from time to time by the appropriate people.

In recent times, she said, vacation accrual policies can also be seen as negotiating tools for municipalities.

“Over the last few years, we have seen a lot of retirement in high levels of municipal government. Town managers and police chiefs retiring,” Dufour said. “We have had great difficulty recruiting law enforcement, assessors and clerks. I think vacation time is one of those conversations where they can say, ‘Come work for us, and this is the paid vacation time in terms of benefits that we are offering.'”

In Winthrop, town officials are now working to tighten adherence to existing policies.

“If you accrue that much,” Wilson said, “it is financially unstable for the town.”

As he looks to tighten the use of vacation, Wilson said he is also updating the current vacation policy so it is more generous and serves to attract and retain new staff members.

If approved by the Town Council, the new policy would allow a new employee to accrue three weeks of vacation time yearly, instead of the two weeks provided in the current policy.

“Instead of reducing the number of hours one can accrue, we are changing the policy so employees can accrue hours faster, and this is for two reasons,” Wilson said. “First, if this policy is approved, it will make us a more attractive job prospect. And second, because it’s important to take vacations, to enjoy places and things, and then come back reenergized.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that town employees can accrue vacation time over several years. The story previously mischaracterized the vacation time given in one year.

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