The Magnolia City Council voted Oct. 8 to rescind the city's Family Medical Leave Act benefits to its employees.

Employers with 50 or fewer employees can opt out of the federal program. The city of Magnolia employs 26 people.

Magnolia Police Chief Domingo Ibarra brought the issue to the city council at its monthly meeting, spurred by an employee in his department seeking FMLA.

"This is not something a city of our size can accommodate," Ibarra told council members.

Under the federal act, employees could be granted 12 to 24 weeks of leave.

"We're a city so small that it adversely effects us," he said. "That is a tremendous burden on a department this size."

The city council voted unanimously to rescind the policy after an executive session.