County employees balk at health insurance changes

July 11--Another arduous week of budget talks in Wichita County does not bring any easier decisions.

Faced with cutting county staff or trimming other areas, commissioners are dedicated to save their own if possible. With a looming tax cap less than 20 cents away, the court announced last week that they were looking to trim 20-25 county positions. On top of the personnel cuts, they are looking to pare back on nonprofit giving and possibly choose a health insurance plan that is less expensive to the county

Commissioner Jeff Watts looked into the health insurance possibilities and said there are a few ways the county can go, none of which are going to make them very popular. Now is the time, he said, to turn things around because change is going to take years. He said if they wait until they hit the 80-cent tax wall, the cuts will be much more severe.

Discussions began Monday afternoon about nonprofit funding cuts here and there, but county commissioner secretary Willie Wall said with personnel accounting for two-thirds of the budget, any cuts to other places are not going to make enough of a difference.

Watts said a possible goal would be an across-the-board 10 percent cut to all nonprofits they fund. Even then, the $50,000 or so that is possible from that cut does not make much difference to the multi-million-dollar budget.

County Judge Woody Gossom said since these budget talks began, he always thinks of savings they can find in other places so they can lower the number of personnel they let go.

"That $50,000 may not seem like much, but that might be one less we must cut," he said.

District Attorney Maureen Shelton said they are willing to forgo salary increases and one of the positions requested in her office, but they still need a scanner. Shelton said with only one or two people scanning document, the county is months behind the court schedule, which ultimately costs the county money. Hiring an adequate number of scanners will result in better movement of people and save the county money, Shelton said.

The most heated discussion of the day was over possible changes to the county health insurance.

Watts said if they go with a different plan, still under the Texas Association of Counties insurance, they could save up to $180,000. The plan would like higher deductibles ranging from around $600 to $1,900, and some other increased costs to county employees.

A tempting savings of $400,000 is possible, Watts said, by ending grandfathered status of about 40 employees. The change would mean an increase of $500-600 per month for those people.

At least three employees in the court room were under grandfathered status and were vocally opposed to the change.

Shelton said while she works for the state now, but when she first began with the county years ago as a single parent, the health benefits were a main reason she stayed with the county. For people who have given 20, 30 years of their life to the county, it's not right to drop an increase like this on them with little notice, she said.

Shelton suggested at least allowing the affected personnel to speak to the commissioners and possibly arrange a phased-in approach to the increase.

Wichita County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Derek Meador said he is one of the grandfathered people that would be affected. While he understands the county is going through a tough situation, the pay cut from the health insurance hike would cause him to leave the county.

Shelton agreed that this may be the situation for many employees in that situation. She again urged the court to allow the employees to voice their opinions or the county could lose some of their best, most long-serving employees in the next six months.

No decisions were finalized Monday and budget talks will continue through August.

Some departments that are facing the most cuts, such as the sheriff's office, will present their budget plans to the court next Wednesday, July 20. The Information Technology Department said they will remove their request for an additional employee this budget cycle. The Public Defender's Office said they could make some adjustments and come in under budget. The District Attorney's Office said they will remove the request for raises, but would still like the additional scanner position.

County budget talks will continue Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday this week.

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