Magistrates of Trigg Fiscal Court unanimously approved a compromise Monday night, locking in on Peel & Holland’s health insurance plan for 37 county employees over the next year.
Provisions will go up from $625 to $650 per employee, totaling roughly $925 a month and $11,000 annually out of the fiscal court general budget.
However, according to Treasurer Lucy Oliver Kyler and Judge-Executive Stan Humphries, a cost is coming to the worker should they choose to carry.
Kyler said it’s not a “huge amount,” but that county employees have been used to “not paying anything” for that low-plan coverage.
Those on the high-plan, she added, saw their premiums raised around $30, so a $25 county increase will absorb most of that burden.
Kyler, Humphries and magistrates shared a concern about the continued cost-of-living raises potentially being swiped by annually higher insurance rates.
Magistrate Alana Baker-Dunn, along with Kyler and Humphries, also sought clarifications on this change, and it painted an interesting snapshot of employee needs.
Open enrollment for the county is due by July 1.
In other court news:
— It’ll happen at a later date, but magistrates approved the beginning process of reapportionment of the fiscal court districts. Following a recent discussion with the Pennyrile Area Development District, Humphries said changes could be on the way based on 10% thresholds.
— Magistrates unanimously approved the payment of $10,000 for election officers, as County Clerk Carmen Finley and her office prepare for the 2024 Primary Election season.
— Magistrates also unanimously approved a major budget amendment to the 2022-23 fiscal year, which includes the incoming of several funding elements totaling around $900,000.
Kyler said this involves $500,000 flexing in for the I-24 Business Park spec building, a CDBG utility pass-through worth $10,000, a solid amount for prisoner transfer reimbursement to the sheriff’s fund, a host of donations for the Senior Citizens Center, a splash from County Clerk Storage provisions, and more than $280,000 in federal cash through ARPA and the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund.
— Speaking of Kyler, magistrates wholly approved her return as county treasurer on a four-year term expiring in 2027. Humphries noted the body had to make the decision following the November 2022 general election.
— Lori Ford was similarly approved to fill a three-year term on the Pennyrile Regional Council on Aging, which expires June 30, 2026.
— County Attorney Randy Braboy also opened all bids for fuel, rock, bituminous surfacing, chip and seal and RS 2-Oil.
