Council OKs insurance change
Employees with spouse, children or family coverage will get extra $
Council OKs insurance change
Two issues that came before Jay County Commissioners at their last meeting were in county council’s hands Wednesday night.
Jay County Council members took action on one, approving a commissioners plan to increase the county’s contribution to employee health insurance.
They also heard a request for support from Jay County Humane Society as the organization hopes to put together a plan for the future for animal control in the county.
Council members Jeanne Houchins, Faron Parr, Gary Theurer, Cindy Newton and Amy Runyon-Barrett, absent Ted Champ and Mike Rockwell, were quick with their support for the plan commissioners laid out at their Oct. 22 meeting. Though health insurance premium increases were held in check for 2019 — 4 percent compared to an original estimate of 37 percent — that increase comes on the heels of a 15-percent hike at the start of 2018. In order to take some of the burden off of employees, commissioners suggested increasing the county’s contribution.
Their plan called for the county to continue to contribute $550 per month for those with individual coverage. It suggested increases to $650 for those with coverage for the employee plus children, $750 for the employee plus their spouse and $850 for the employee plus the family.
The total cost for those changes will be $34,800 per year.
“I think it sounds like a great step in the right direction,” Parr said before the five council members in attendance voted unanimously to approve the plan.
As they did at the last commissioners meeting, representatives from Jay County Humane Society were on hand to seek support for an effort to create a comprehensive plan for county-wide animal control.
Julie Forcum, an honorary member of the humane society board, noted the need for more space as both Jay County Animal Control and the humane society shelter are well over capacity. She said the humane society was built to house 12 dogs and 12 cats, but is currently home to 25 dogs and about 40 cats.
Part of the plan the humane society hopes to be able to execute includes construction of a new facility.
The group’s main goal Wednesday was to seek support for their mission and ask for a county council member to become part of a developing task force for that purpose.
“We need to be proactive in preparing for the long-term animal care in our county,” said Forcum.
Houchins, the county council president, said she would talk with other council members with hopes of making an appointment to the task force next month.
In other business, council:
•Approved a capital improvements escrow agreement between IU Health and Jay County Hospital. The agreement lays out the procedure for $5 million in funds that were part of the integration agreement between the two entities to be held at First Merchants Bank.
•Named Rob Weaver to the Jay County Visitors and Tourism Board, effective Jan. 1, to replace outgoing member Carla Strong Loy, who opted not to seek another term.
•Learned from Houchins that conversations are ongoing with Jay School Corporation about providing a full-time school resource officer. She said the goal is to have an agreement in place no later than July 1 to allow a full-time SRO to start the 2019-20 school year.
•Heard form Culy that some changes will need to be made to the county’s payroll ordinance to ensure compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
An issue was found that the sheriff’s office’s four-on, two-off scheduling doesn’t match up with the way the ordinance reads. “We just need to make the language match our practice,” said Culy.
•Approved an ordinance to allow the purchase of a new backhoe for the surveyor’s office via a $93,000, five-year loan at 3.74 percent interest through First Merchants Bank.
•OK’d the following additional appropriations: $100,000 in economic development funds from Bluff Point Wind Energy Center to Jay School Corporation and $32,900 from the same funds for repairs to the roof at The Glass Museum in Dunkirk; $5,445.61 from the sheriff’s donation fund to pay for K-9 vet bills; and $3,000 for backhoe parts and service.
•Approved the following transfers: $2,258.72 to wages-first deputy from wages-clerical for the recorder’s office; 50 cent to first deputy from clerical and $1,200 to second deputy from clerical for the assessor’s office; $1,100 to wages-court bailiff from law book for Jay Superior Court; a total of $675.95 to maintenance of cemetery stones from clerical and office supplies in the cemetery budget; $25,000 to wages-overtime from wages-EMT and $16,000 to wages-paramedics from wages-EMS reserves, both in the for Jay Emergency Medical Service; $76,132.35 to magnesium chloride from road paving and $6,800 to JEMS base repairs from road paving in the infrastructure budget; 35 cents to deputy director from educator for Community Corrections.
