Twiggs County employees dodge massive cuts to family members’ insurance coverage

After months of uncertainty, the Twiggs County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday night to cover 82 percent of health insurance costs for county employees and their dependents.

In the past, the county has paid 100 percent of medical insurance for its employees and 96 percent for their spouses and dependents. But even after a double-digit cut, county employees at the meeting seemed pleased with the deal.

“I don’t think anybody really expects you to give ‘em insurance for free, as far as their family and everybody else is concerned. But certainly you need an affordable insurance that, based off of what they make annually, that they can afford and still be able to live and support their family,” said Sheriff Darren Mitchum. “So, I’m pleased with the proposal that they passed.”

County employees first learned that their insurance plans would be changing in a letter they received this spring from board Chairman Kenneth Fowler. In the letter, he wrote that an unexpected $500,000 tax expense, in addition to a $500,000 increase in premiums from the county’s insurance provider, would prevent the county from offering the same insurance coverage it has before.

“The county’s commitment remains to employees. Other coverages were nice to support, when funds existed,” Fowler wrote in the letter. “The only other alternative would be to raise property tax rates by 2 mills. Comments from citizens have not been positive for that option.”

County officials have spent the past few months comparing rates with different insurance companies and researching alternative options. At a Board of Commissioners meeting on June 19, County Administrator Kelvin C. Lewis proposed the county pay 100 percent of employees’ insurance, but 0 percent for dependents.

Three commissioners voted to take the Board of Commissioners off of the county’s insurance plan to save the county some money, and one suggested that the county continue to provide its old insurance coverage plan until Aug. 1. The board ultimately voted to wait until Aug. 1, when it would implement Lewis’s proposed percentages.

But employees were still uneasy with the new plan, so the county continued to explore other options.

On Tuesday night, the Board of Commissioners meeting was standing room only as county employees waited for the commissioners to reach the last item on the agenda: health insurance.

After about seven minutes of discussion and an endorsement from the sheriff, the Board of Commissioners voted to pay 82 percent of county employees’ insurance, as well as their dependents.

“I think it’s more realistic to where things are at today in the economy compared to what my employees make at the sheriff’s office here and the other county employees,” Mitchum said.

Twiggs County E-911 Director Jennifer Lakey was worried when she heard that the county’s insurance plan was changing.

“This county, I mean, it’s got crime rates and accidents, and they need everybody. They need more than what we’ve got,” Lakey said. “Surely don’t need to lose half of your department or better because of insurance premiums. I personally believe this, if they would have went with those rates, they would have shut this county down.”

But at 82 percent for employees and their families, Lakey is feeling reassured. “We all think this is great,” Lakey said.

“We’re going to be OK now. ”

Samantha Max is a Report for America corps member and reports for The Telegraph with support from the News/CoLab at Arizona State University. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/samantha.max.9 and on Twitter @samanthaellimax. Learn more about Report for America at www.reportforamerica.org.