After working for Riley County for 40 years, Dennis Peterson, noxious weed director, gave his final update Thursday to county commissioners on what his employees are working on.
Peterson will retire on March 28. Mike Boller, who was hired March 5, will replace him. Justin Brenner, who was hired Jan. 29, will serve as assistant director.
During Thursday’s meeting, Peterson said he has crammed 40 years worth of knowledge and experience into two weeks of training for Boller, who also attended the meeting. Peterson said he still has some work to do with Boller before his last day of work.
Earlier this month, commissioners approved paying Peterson for 260 hours of accrued vacation time, which is 92 hours over the limit outlined in county policy.
The extra 92 hours will cost the county $4,632 for wages and $750 for benefits.
Commissioner Ben Wilson said Peterson could have used the 92 hours of leave within his last month of work, but the commissioners needed someone to train the new director who had minimal experience both in leadership and the noxious weeds department.
“We wanted Dennis to have the full month without any vacation to train the new director and the best way to do that was to offer to pay him extra for the extra vacation.”
Commissioners Wilson and Marvin Rodriguez said allowing for additional leave pay was a one-time decision based on the circumstances and not something all county employees should expect when leaving a county position. Commissioner Ron Wells declined to comment.
credit:themercury.com