Vacation Getaway
Mecklenburg County is on the hook for potentially having to shell out more than $25 million in so-called compensated absences – largely accrued vacation leave and sick time pay, stretching back to 2007 – due workers when they eventually leave county employment.
Last year alone, 649 former county employees received a combined total of about $3.7 million for accrued vacation leave ($1.7 million) and sick time ($1.9 million), for an average of $5,806 per employee.
The information on compensated absences was presented to commissioners Tuesday as part of a closed-door discussion over County Manager Harry Jones’ handling of a settlement package given to former Area Mental Health Director Grayce Crockett.
The total $25.4 million balance for compensated absences accrued by the county for the current fiscal year-end is recorded as an unfunded long-term liability and not logged as part of the county’s annual general fund balance sheet, according to information distributed to commissioners.
In that light, the whole $25.4 million would not be available for other purposes if the county changed its vacation/sick leave policy. But it also means that if by some weird twist of fate all county employees who have accrued vacation/sick pay were to leave at the same time, the county could be faced with the prospect of forking over $25 million to employees on their way out the door. The money would most likely be drawn from the county’s fund balance.
The money that the county records as an annual expense for compensated absences – the $3.7 million hit for 2010, for example – could, however, be trimmed moving forward if the county were to change its existing policy.
Annual payouts the county has made for compensated absences since 2007:
2009 – $1.45 million
vacation – $760,272
sick – $696,494
343 employees; average $3,895 per worker
2008 – $1.73 million
vacation – $822,685
sick – $912,592
421 employees; average $4,121 per worker
2007 – $1.52 million
vacation – $816,379
sick – $709,639
438 employees; average $3,484 per worker
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