County talks health insurance costs, budget request

June 20--A significant increase in employee health insurance costs and a budget request for the Ellis County attorney's office were discussed at Monday's county commission meeting.

Cost of coverage for the State Employee Health Plan for next year has increased between 9.5 percent to 10.5 percent.

"We are in a position where just the increased cost of health insurance in the general fund will be an additional $75,000 beyond what I have already included in the preliminary budget," Ellis County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes said.

County commissioners are in the process of reviewing the county's proposed 2018 budget and will receive updated numbers based on the larger-than-expected hike in insurance costs.

It's a number that likely will make a big difference in several departments' budgets, including the county attorney's office. The cost of health insurance alone now amounts to approximately 24 percent of that office's whole budget, County Attorney Tom Drees said.

Drees, Tom 17

Drees

Drees also noted the bulk of his office's budget -- approximately 95 percent -- consists of staff salaries plus benefits. The office has 11 total staff members, including five prosecutor positions. He is requesting an increase of approximately $64,000, which includes a proposed 1.5-percent salary increase for classified employees and a 0.5-percent raise for the county attorney.

Drees said it has become harder to recruit prosecutors, as the county's pay is not keeping pace with other counties or the private sector, he said.

"I'm not faulting the commissioners. I come in and I ask, and when you say don't increase salaries, we don't increase salaries. And I do the best I can to follow that," Drees said. "But the reality is we've been doing that for several years now, and Ellis County is falling behind."

The department is seeking a new assistant county attorney, and another prosecutor is splitting time between Ellis and Trego counties after being elected the Trego County attorney. The sharing of staff time with other counties was questioned during Monday's meeting.

Hays attorney Leslie Hess addressed the commission and expressed concern with the amount of time Ellis County prosecutors spend assisting other counties in the region. Hess cited a 20-day lawsuit she was involved in that Drees prosecuted in Sheridan County.

"I don't understand why we're paying someone that should be here taking care of business and they are (in) other counties," Hess said, after commissioners invited her to ask her question. "I would bring this question to anyone that is being paid by Ellis County taxpayers, regardless of where it is, if I'm helping to pay their salary."

Drees said it long has been a common practice for Kansas counties to assist each other when their own prosecutors are unable to participate in a case, usually due to perceived conflicts of interest. The Kansas Attorney General's office assists counties with special assistance requests and keeping the rotation balanced, he said.

"We keep track and try to balance that out," Drees said. "Prosecutors from time to time run into conflicts. They have other county attorneys where we trade in and out of each other's counties to do those cases where we have conflicts. That's been going on for as long as I know."

It's a common practice for counties not to charge each other for special assistance, but rather to maintain a quid pro quo system, he said, noting Ellis County also does not pay for the assistance granted by other counties.

Ellis County Counselor Bill Jeter also noted Drees has -- on several occasions -- filled in for him at no cost when he must recuse himself from representing the county in certain matters.

"That's the way it works," Drees said. "It's called being a good neighbor."

The county commission will hear additional departmental budget requests during a special meeting next week.

For more from Monday's Ellis County Commission meeting, watch HDNews.net or see Wednesday's paper.

___

(c)2017 The Hays Daily News (Hays, Kan.)

Visit The Hays Daily News (Hays, Kan.) at www.hdnews.net

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.