The Logan County commissioners and other county elected officials needed 80 minutes on Thursday morning to adjust over $566,000 in their estimate of needs for the next fiscal year to balance the budget.
The elected officials met inside the Courthouse Annex building to discuss the 2016-17 county estimate of needs.
To view the conversation a video follows this article. The topic begins at the 13:00 minute mark and extends until the 1:32 mark.
Budget consultant Jerry Putnam informed the commissioners three areas of revenue that are down from the previous year, including carry-over, miscellaneous revenue and ad valorem, totaling $136,000 less than a year ago. In addition, requests came in less this year as well at $193,000.
In total, $329,000 was needed to balance the budget, which by law is required to have a balance budget.
Commissioners agreed and unanimously (3-0) voted to pull $300,000 from the Highway Levy account and $30,000 from the Safety account in general government.
With a balance budget, the officers then discussed the elevated cost in health insurance for the approximate 140 county employees.
County Clerk Troy Cole stated health insurance cost the County $775,000 in the present fiscal year, but will be increasing to over a million dollars. In the current budget year, Logan County offers employees $586 a month for insurance, but with another hike increase the price has been elevated to $632 per month.
In the first year of offering health insurance (2002), the cost for the County was $286 per month.
“If we can’t give our employees a pay raise due to our budget, I think we need to cover the health insurance as best as we can,” District 3 County Commissioner Monty Piearcy said.
Not all employees elect to take the county insurance or in some cases take only a portion of the benefits, however, since the county offers the benefits they must be prepared to cover the cost.
“Here is the big issue. We got an increase that we got to deal with this year,” District 1 Commissioner Marven Goodman said. “If we pass it along to employees, that’s a pay cut. At the end of the day it’s a pay cut.”
Officers attempted to fully fund the health cost for employees with an additional cost of $286,760 to take from the budget. However, after much conversation, the commissioners were forced to agree to fund an additional $236,496 for the increased insurance price after going through each account and absorbing funds.
Sheriff Jim Bauman was the first to speak and offered to give $180,000 from the jail operations account. Soon after, Cole offered $5,000 from her department, Assessor Tish Hampton returned $1,495, Treasurer Sherri Longnecker gave back $5,000, Erin Dorio with the Election Board offered $10,000, Emergency Manager David Ball gave $5,000 from the storm siren account and the three commissioners agreed to $30,000 from the general government capital overlay.
“I hate they we’re in this position,” Cole said.
With the budget give backs, county employees will now be offered $600 a month to choose health care benefits. The highest primary health care (three levels) cost is $571.04 with another provider approximately $50 less. The State mandates each employee carry disability insurance ($9.10).
Essentially, the County picked up $14 of the $46 increase for employees. Employees will now to decide if they want to spend a portion of their income (approximately additional $32) for all benefits that are offered.
“I hate that we are in this position. My fear and a place I don’t want to see happen with county insurance is I don’t want to see us to reach the point we actually have to cut what we always have provided,” Cole said.
The County’s estimate of needs will now be forwarded for final consideration by the Logan County Excise Tax board.
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