Isle of Wight supervisor wants county employees to pay more for health insurance

April 18--Isle of Wight County Supervisor Dick Grice said Monday that county employees should pay a higher percentage of their health insurance costs.

The county's health insurance rates for employees under its Anthem "Local Choice" plan are increasing by 6.5 percent in the coming fiscal year. Roughly 5 percent of this rate increase will be passed on to employees under the $72.4 million budget proposal for fiscal year 2018.

"As it stands right now, I do not think county employees are paying their fair share of what it costs for insurance," Grice said by phone Monday after a Board of Supervisors work session. "Their compensation comes from taxpayers. They should be compensated fairly, but also should be covering their fair share of the burden."

Grice said the employee contribution toward health insurance costs is particularly low for employees who select the most basic, employee-only plan. Under the proposed budget, these employees would pay roughly 2 percent of the full cost, or $11.55 a month, for the plan, while the county picks up the additional $715.

Under the proposed budget, the 5 percent increase passed on to employees equals a yearly increase ranging from $6.60 for a lone employee with basic, preventative dental, to $310.80 for family coverage with comprehensive dental.

Isle of Wight County is considering a switch to in-house maintenance of its 13 emergency generators instead of continuing to contract out the services, a move officials say would save the county more than $100,000 a year.

Tony Wilson, director of public works, proposed the change to the Board of...

Isle of Wight County is considering a switch to in-house maintenance of its 13 emergency generators instead of continuing to contract out the services, a move officials say would save the county more than $100,000 a year.

Tony Wilson, director of public works, proposed the change to the Board of...

Mary Beth Johnson, director of Human Resources for the county, said by email Monday that most county employees choose the highest plan with comprehensive dental. Under the proposed budget, this plan would costs employees $94.50 to $543.90 a month, while the county's monthly cost is $714.50 to $1,640.10 per employee.

County Administrator Randy Keaton said after the budget work session staff continues to recommend just the 5 percent increase for employees.

Grice also suggested lowering the proposed 2 percent general wage increase for all county employees to 1 percent, and raising the proposed 1 percent merit-based raises for employees to 2 percent.

Supervisor Rudolph Jefferson said he supports the 2 percent raise increase for all county employees, because it demonstrates a care for and appreciation of employees. Keaton said raising the general wage of all employees will help the county compete with other localities.

Isle of Wight County Sheriff Mark Marshall explained the need for the two additional sheriff's deputies requested in the department's budget. The department originally requested additional deputies last year because of the concentrated population, and crime, in the Newport Development Service District.

The area, primarily in Carrollton, contains 39 percent of Isle of Wight's population and is responsible for 42 percent of the county's police calls, Marshall said. The two additional deputies would better prepare the department for dealing with the high volume of calls from that area.

The additional positions are also needed because of the department's struggle with recruiting and retaining deputies, Marshall said.

"Everything is really wrapped around personnel," Marshall said. "Recruiting high-caliber, high-quality people and then retaining them. That's going to be a challenge, to continue to do that, to stay competitive with the Hampton Roads community."

Dave Smith, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, explained his department's 14 percent overall increase in the proposed budget. One of the department's largest increases, he said, is overtime. Under the proposed budget, the expense jumps 72 percent, from $15,000 in the current fiscal year to $25,750 for fiscal year 2018.

Most of this expense is storm related, Smith said. Parks and Recreation staff are expected to report to work during severe weather situations. The cost of these overtime hours exceeded the current fiscal year's budget, Smith said.

"My hope is for a nice, calm year with no snow and we can return a lot of that funding back," Smith said. "I wanted to plan in anticipation if we have weather-related events."

The department is also focusing on increasing its recovery of expenses, Smith said. The standard percentage of recovery of costs spent on an event is 29 percent. The department currently recovers about 18, Smith said.

Keaton told the supervisors that the county had received proposals on its request for a tax-exempt bond of up to $7.9 million to finance the school division's expansion of its vocational courses. The county's consultant, Davenport & Company, is recommending a proposal from Raymond James, a financial services holding company headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The proposal is for a loan with an interest rate of 2.4 percent, to be repaid over 13 years. That would bring the total principle and interest to $9.3 million. The yearly payment would be $124,293 for the first year and $707,385 for every subsequent year.

A public hearing on the bond will be held during Thursday's Board of Supervisors meeting at 6 p.m. at 17130 Monument Cir.

Smith can be reached by phone at 757-510-1663.

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