Video: Tupelo Council To Allow Employees To Donate Leave Time

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Tupelo, Miss. (WCBI) – The Tupelo City Council will allow city employees to donate unused leave to wounded officer Joseph Maher.

The measure was approved at Tuesday night’s council meeting.

State law requires city leaders to authorize members of the police department and other employees to donate the time.

Maher was shot December 23rd during a bank robbery that claimed the life of Sergeant Gale Stauffer.

“This is an avenue that the city uses to make sure that an injured employee receive 100-percent of their salary rather than the 66-percent that workers compensation pays,” said Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton.

“A lot of that depends on how long the officer has been with the department. How much sick time that he’s used if he has any vacation available and we will monitor that closely to make sure that’s never an issue and that he’s taken care of,” added Tupelo Assistant Police Chief Allan Gilbert.

Shelton says there should be enough time available to cover Maher’s recovery, should it become necessary to use.