Karnes County renews employee health insurance benefits

KARNES CITY – The Karnes County Commissioners Court renewed employee health insurance benefits for fiscal year 2027, advanced plans for a new Precinct 4 EMS satellite building and approved grant-related contracts during its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 23.

The court approved renewing the county's employee health insurance through the Texas Association of Counties Health and Employee Benefits Pool for fiscal year 2027 and continued its county-specific employee wellness incentive program. County officials noted that insurance costs will increase for the coming year but elected to maintain the current benefit structure for employees.

Commissioners also approved contracts with Traylor & Associates Inc. for grant administration and environmental services and Cope Engineering for engineering services associated with a Texas Department of Agriculture grant, subject to approval of the county attorney.

The contracts are related to a previously awarded state grant and would authorize the firms to move forward with administration and engineering work on the project.

As part of the county's annual budget process, the court established a Salary Grievance Committee in accordance with state law. The committee will hear salary grievances if necessary during development of the fiscal year 2027 budget.

The court approved three agenda items requested by the Karnes County Clerk's Office involving employee mileage reimbursement. Commissioners re-established the mileage reimbursement general ledger account, transferred $1,000 from the office's conference expense account into the mileage account and approved reimbursement for mileage expenses incurred during the current fiscal year.

Commissioners also approved final construction documents for the Precinct 4 EMS Satellite Building project. The action authorizes DRG Architects to issue construction documents and solicit competitive sealed proposals from contractors, allowing the project to move into the bidding phase.