The Nash County Board of Commissioners on April 16 approved closing county offices at 2 p.m. on the Friday of the town’s Blooming Festival and granting employees three hours of paid time off that day.

County Manager Stacy Shatzer opened discussion, saying, "this year in particular with enhanced security, the town is planning on fencing off the festival area and having 4 points of entry. So even more so, I think it's important for us to address our staffing on the Friday of that event. ... I'm asking that the board consider allowing us to do what we did last year, which was close our offices at 2PM on Friday afternoon and provide our staff with 3 hours of PTO time, to cover that." The board debated whether to take a formal vote or a consensus and discussed how and when to notify the public.

Commissioners raised procedural and informational questions: whether the PTO differs from the county’s inclement-weather practice, how broadly the closure would apply across county departments, and what the fiscal impact would be. Shatzer said the county’s inclement-weather absences are handled through a 16-hour annual PTO allotment; the Blooming Festival request was presented as a one‑off request modeled on last year’s practice. She said essential departments such as EMS and 9-1-1 would remain on duty.

Commissioner Robbie Leggett moved the motion; Commissioner Leroy Davis seconded. The board conducted a voice vote with no recorded roll-call; the chair declared the motion passed. Commissioners who asked for more notice said staff would provide signage and communications in advance and consider discussing the practice earlier in future budget cycles.

The action is a one-time operational decision for this year’s festival; commissioners discussed whether to formalize a recurring policy going forward but took no further formal action at the meeting.