Commissioners finalize insurance resolutions

The Ashtabula County Board of Commissioners approved two resolutions paving the way for IEN Risk Management Consultants to bring a new health insurance program to county workers.

During a work session prior to the regular meeting, the commissioners asked questions of Bryce Heinbaugh, the managing partner of IEN Risk Management Consultants.

“It is really a typical contract agreement ... There is no undisclosed fees,” Heinbaugh said. The commissioners said they decided to go with the new program when the county’s former insurer said rates would go up 18% in the final year of the contract.

The county opted to pay a $3 million buy-out in order to switch to the new company, which has the opportunity of reducing rates significantly over time.

Heinbaugh said the ordinances created a pathway for the company to hire contractors that will do the detail work. He said the county would define the terms with the actuary.

“This is new territory for us,” Commissioner Casey Kozlowski said while asking questions.

County employees will see a seven percent increase in costs but not have reductions in coverage.

“We’ve done our best to work with the human resources team to match or be better,” Heinbaugh said of the program.

Heinbaugh said there are no individual maximums for coverage. He said next year, the process to sign up for one of the two plans will occur 120 days from the end of the former contract.

There will be a contractor representative on-site as the program is set to being in January, he said.

The commissioners passed a resolution setting the pricing and a second to allow the company coordinate the overall program.

The commissioners also accepted several grants for the Victims of Crime Awareness program and discussed ways to pay for the matching money to run the organization.

The commissioners said they would discuss ways the Ashtabula County Prosecutor’s Office special funds might be used to help defray the costs in a tight budget. Commissioner Kathryn Whittington said she would discuss use of opiate settlement funds to defray the costs. The VOCA award is $48,628 with a local match of $12,157.

The commissioners approved the purchase of a Toyota Rav4 from Classic Toyota of Mentor, at a cost of $32,439.

A resolution to approve a $350,000 state reimbursement to the county for the Windsor Road Bridge replacement and the Plymouth/Beck Road resurfacing project was approved as well.

A similar resolution accepted $500,000 for the Jobey/Lafever, Brown Road, Clay Road Drainage and resurfacing project.

A $17,462.94 change order was passed to pay Koski Construction for a series of county roads that were resurfaced.

An agreement was approved for the Department of Job and Family Services to provide $500,000 to the Ashtabula County Children Services Board to assist in caring for children in protective services.

The commissioners had three separate executive sessions Tuesday. The sessions were for pending litigation, possible acquisition of land and union negotiations, with no action to follow.

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