Supervisors Pass On Potential $300,000 Savings PDF Print E-mail
By JOEL McNEECE
Calhoun County Supervisors rejected a new health insurance proposal Tuesday estimated to save the county $300,000 due to the impact it would have on county employees.
The supervisors have heard from a number of health insurance providers over the past few weeks presenting proposals for the county to consider after the county learned it would incur a 9% increase from its current provider – Mississippi Public Entity Employee Benefit Trust.
Jarrod Davis of Calhoun City and Mike Roberts of Oxford spoke to the board last Friday about options with Blue Cross they said could save the county $300,000.
The issue for supervisors was that the Blue Cross policy would cause a dramatic increase in premium for 17 of the county’s more than 70 employees that have family coverage for their spouse and/or children. That increase was projected to be more than $200 a month for those employees.
Supervisors had Board Attorney Sonny Clanton look into the matter to see if there was any way the county could absorb the additional costs for those employees or any other means of accepting the plan without the county workers taking the hit.
Clanton reported Tuesday the audit department said the county couldn’t absorb the costs and no other options had been found other than the employees picking up the increase.
With that in mind, Supervisor Howard Morgan motioned for the county to keep its current insurance provider. Gwin Longest seconded and it passed by a 4-1 vote with Board President Barney Wade voting against.
“I’m not trying to hurt anybody,” Wade said. “That’s just a lot of savings. I wish we could find some way to take advantage of this.”
In other news, the board authorized the recycle trailers in Pittsboro to be moved to Calhoun City and Bruce and agreed to begin seeking additional trailers for Vardaman and Pittsboro.
The move came at the request of Dr. Scott Wright and Sister Judy Sinnwell, members of the Green Committee with the Calhoun City Chamber of Commerce, who are leading the countywide recycling effort.
“We are very appreciative of the trailers and the spark it has ignited around the county to get more interest in recycling,” Dr. Wright said. “The only trouble we have is accessibility.”
Dr. Wright said the Green Committee believes the recycling effort will be an even greater success if the trailers were set up in each municipality to allow better access for everyone, rather than the whole county having to drive to Pittsboro to unload recyclables.
Dr. Wright said he had spoken with Bruce Mayor Robert Edward Oakley, Calhoun City Mayor J.R. Denton and Vardaman Mayor James Casey and all had been supportive of the effort.
Dr. Wright said the effort has spread into the schools in Calhoun City where trash cans are being purchased for every classroom to collect recyclables. He said Vardaman Elementary had an active recycling effort underway as well.
The recycling program was sold to the board of supervisors on the premise that it not only benefits the environment, but also the county’s bottom line. All of the garbage recycled rather than delivered to the land fill at Pontotoc saves the county money.
There is no cost to unload the collected recyclables at the recycle center in Oxford. Sister Sinnwell said other counties where recycling has been implemented have saved tens of thousands of dollars due to less garbage dumped at the landfill.
The board agreed to continue supporting the effort however they could.
Other items addressed by the board:
•Supervisors re-appointed Smokey Barefield and Tony Hardin to the Calhoun Health Services board of directors.
•Lance Kline with Nature Chem presented a proposal to the board about roadside spraying. No action was taken.
•The board authorized sheriff's department personnel to transfer sick leave to deputy Byron Talford who was recently badly burned in a fire accident at his home.
•The board opened bids for a sweeper for District One in the amounts of $40,900; $39,500; and $26,600. The bids were rejected.
•The board agreed to renew a 2-year lease with the Department of Corrections to continue using the county's building at Pittsboro.
•The board held a public hearing on the budget with no citizens present. The proposed budget and near four mill increase was adopted.
•The board hired Dunn Electrical Service to do electrical work on the new building at the county jail being constructed for state inmates.
•CEDA Director Terry Fales also spoke to the board. Fales said Paul Tyler, of Bruce, has replaced Lee Peden, of Bruce, as the president of the CEDA Board.
Fales said he is continuing to meet with Norman Griffin to find means of assisting his efforts to start up training for solar panel installers, as well as a possible business to sell and distribute the panels.
•The meeting concluded with the board entering executive session to discuss a “litigation matter.”