CLAYTON — The ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Council voted 5-2 Tuesday to approve 12 weeks paid parental leave for full-time county employees, up from the two weeks currently available, despite concerns about how the county can pay for it beyond the next year.
Voting in favor were Council Chair Rita Days, D-1st District, and Council members Tim Fitch, R-3rd District; Shalonda Webb, D-4th District; Lisa Clancy, D-5th District; and Kelli Dunaway, D-2nd District. Fitch and Days were co-sponsors of the measure.
Councilmen Ernie Trakas, R-6th District, and Mark Harder, R-7th District, voted against the measure, citing concerns that the county wouldn’t be able to pay for it.
County Budget Policy Director Paul Kreidler told the council last week that it was unclear how much exactly the new paid leave policy would cost, but that the county would run out of funding by 2024 without other changes to the county budget. The county is running on a $30 million deficit that is expected to grow next year.
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But Fitch and other advocates argued the council could figure out how to fund the program, which they said would help the county recruit and retain talent by keeping up with employee benefits offered by many private employers.
“This is about making ºüÀêÊÓƵ County government a more desirable place to work,†he said.
The bill expands paid leave for both merit and appointed county employees who are new parents, for birth or adoption of a new child. For parents of a child who are both county employees, one “primary†caregiver would be eligible for 12 weeks paid leave, and a secondary caregiver would get four additional weeks of paid leave.
The leave includes 80 hours for prenatal appointments and up to 80 hours for first-year health care appointments for infants, as well for children up to 18 years old who were adopted within the last year.
County Executive Sam Page did not say Tuesday night whether he would sign the bill. The executive in 2019 had first implemented a paid leave policy, signing an executive order that gave employees the two weeks currently available to them.
Banning sex acts?
In other action Tuesday, a measure by Fitch to ban sex acts on county property won first-round approval by a council majority after prolonged debate about whether the measure was needed.
The bill was a response to the sudden resignation of Cal Harris, Page’s chief of staff, after Harris recorded himself in a sex act in his county office. Harris quit his $156,000-a-year job on June 29 amid a Missouri Highway Patrol investigation into the video and its dissemination.
The video was sent anonymously a week earlier to Rep. Shamed Dogan, a Ballwin Republican who is running for county executive. Harder, who received a copy, turned it over to Clayton Police, who referred it to the highway patrol, which is investigating.
The attorney for the woman in the video claims she had no knowledge of the recording being made or shared. Harris’ attorney contends the woman knew of the recording, and says Harris does not know how the recording got sent from his personal phone.
Fitch on Tuesday said his measure, introduced July 5, “is about making a very strong statement to all our county employees that not only is this not acceptable at the highest levels of our government, but to every level of county government.â€
The legislation would explicitly penalize county employees for engaging in act of “any sexual nature while present in a county-owned building or vehicle, or in or on other personal or real county-owned property.â€
Violators would be subject to suspension, discharge, or other discipline as well as a fine of up to $1,000 and up to a year in jail, or both.
The council gave the bill first-round approval by a voice vote, but not before several council members questioned whether the proposal was necessary at all. Civil service rules forbid misconduct and allow for suspension and discharge in those cases.
Webb asked for a committee meeting on the bill, asking “what is the value added?â€
Dunaway seconded the idea, saying she wanted to know “what exactly constitutes a sex act? And how will this be enforced?†She said the Harris resignation was “an embarrassing ordeal for everyone involved†and criticized Fitch’s bill as “cruel and unnecessary.â€
Page, in response to questions from Fitch, said county human resources rules apply to appointees just like merit employees. But he said he would sign the bill if the council agrees on an ordinance.
“In this instance, the employee resigned at the same moment he was describing what happened before I could terminate him,†Page said. “But if you want to pass an ordinance to address this … if you can figure out how to define sex acts and how to enforce it, I’ll sign your bill.â€
Posted at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 19.