Watertown City Council Approves New Personnel Policy to Establish Employee Sick Bank
- Steve Jurrens
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Northeast Radio SD News - Watertown, SD - The Watertown City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the city’s personnel policy on Monday night, officially establishing a new Sick Bank Program for city employees. The measure is effective with the November 2025 payroll.
The proposed change was brought forward by City Manager Stager, who noted that the city’s comprehensive personnel policy, put in place seven to eight months ago, lacked a formal sick bank provision. The new policy allows employees to voluntarily donate accrued sick time to colleagues facing medical hardship…
Key features of the new program include:
· Eligibility for Donation: Employees wishing to donate time must maintain a personal sick leave bank of over 200 hours to ensure they do not compromise their own future needs.
· Need Approval: An employee must first apply to Human Resources to identify a need.
· Review Committee: A small committee, chaired by Stager and including union, management, and HR representation, will review and approve the identified need before any donations are solicited.
· Budget Neutral: Stager noted the program is budget neutral, as it utilizes accrued time already on the books, often banked by employees for supplemental retirement.
Councilman Schutte initiated a discussion regarding checks and balances, seeking clarity on the process to prevent any perception of partiality by the review committee. Stager confirmed that HR staff would serve as non-voting members to bring an unbiased view to the confidential process.
During his presentation, Stager also highlighted a related policy area currently under review: the city’s lack of short-term disability insurance coverage.
Stager noted this is uncommon among competing employers and creates a critical gap, particularly for team members facing events like pregnancy, childbirth, or child adoption. Stager suggested that future policy could include exploring a city donation of time to the sick bank to make the city a more attractive employer for these particular team members.
Mayor Holien concluded the discussion by thanking the union representatives, City Attorney Lisa Carrico, Stager, and HR Director Dacri Nichols for their instrumental work in developing the policy.
