[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6557764,"mediaKeyId","3287502-9b46205b66f2fc296f240c08700b6c63","parentId",3287502,"title","Court signs off on UnitedHealthcare renewal after broker secures lower rate; slight plan tweaks proposed","audioSeconds",1551,"startMs",8275000,"endMs",9826000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3287502-9b46205b66f2fc296f240c08700b6c63&start=8275&end=9826","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3287502-9b46205b66f2fc296f240c08700b6c63/thumbnail_8275000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6557764/Woodford-County/Kentucky/Court-signs-off-on-UnitedHealthcare-renewal-after-broker-secures-lower-rate-slight-plan-tweaks-proposed","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6557764-005256c1ccc31d8fc821fc9681e21bbe/orig.mp4?Expires=1775112354&Signature=QB6z8COLjYZLjZMgD4I6f6OFdMN8SUSfNNlYy4YVXLeEZHaqVAWeDpdnWuxiDHZUicuzqI5Uwov-j2g4Rqk~V-~BgZkfxGBNuMuw-GFiF8VTospn92TUybAUmzTb8IQpCY0l3beawI95j95G7iSYY2j2Ymqt3rwU~Pxg1xv3p-~xchOjyyYOLyz0i34mqDGMX-JuYYSSN~qft3vLn7-HD2vA7Xi9l8741c8scOMibUgejJsLchmhg2rKk5J~3E0h5zf7Q3nlq0XAgjTWVe-gWKcQr5S5FzrZx1WdnboPWYE0wRIyHxdmc~Rz24P-BLmwESvPY3hVOOEPPh697TF6Rw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Woodford County","date","2025-05-14T09:56:06Z","article","Woodford County Fiscal Court approved a health-insurance renewal with UnitedHealthcare after a presentation from benefits broker Assured Partners. The broker said an initial proposed renewal near 29% was negotiated down through plan tweaks and alternative options to an expected premium increase of about 9% for fiscal-year 2025–26.

Darren Smith of Assured Partners explained the renewal process and the drivers behind rising premiums. He cited the county’s recent claims experience (noting a high loss ratio in 2023 and 2024), national medical-cost trends and insurer reinsurance calculations. Assured Partners reported a sequence of offers and modeling that reduced the underwriter’s initial formulation from roughly 29% to a final suggested design that would increase total premium by roughly 9% if the court adopts modest changes to the three-option plan.

The recommended changes were narrowly targeted: increase deductibles by about $500 and raise out-of-pocket maximums $1,000 across the three medical plan options (the county offers a high-deductible HSA plan and two PPO options). Assured Partners estimated those changes would yield $83,000 in lower premium costs for the county compared with renewing exactly as-is. The broker recommended maintaining current employee payroll-deduction levels where possible and absorbing most of the employer cost to avoid passing higher deductions to employees.

County staff noted the budget already contains a conservative buffer for health insurance. The judge explained the 2025–26 budget assumes a 15% health-insurance line in planning to allow flexibility; Assured Partners’ modeled 9% increase will be reflected in final budget calculations. Smith also emphasized the county’s relatively generous dependent contribution and employer HSA contributions as benefits that compare favorably with many other employers.

The court voted to approve the benefits presentation with UnitedHealthcare as proposed. Human-resources staff will communicate details and hold open-enrollment meetings for employees.

Ending
The court approved keeping UnitedHealthcare as the county’s carrier with the broker’s plan adjustments and directed staff to proceed with employee outreach and final enrollment steps. The budget retains a buffer to absorb variance between modeled and final premium rates.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Special Meeting of the Woodford County Fiscal Court 5-13-2025","oneSentenceSummary","After negotiating with broker Assured Partners, Woodford County approved continuing UnitedHealthcare coverage for 2025–26 with plan adjustments that reduce the county’s expected increase to about 9% (from an initial renewal near 29%); the county budget includes a 15% buffer for health insurance.","taxTitle","Woodford County, Kentucky","taxId",73313,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6557769,"Court approves EMS career-pathway class with schools and mental-health counseling for EMS staff",267,6478000,6745000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3287502-9b46205b66f2fc296f240c08700b6c63&start=6478&end=6745","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3287502-9b46205b66f2fc296f240c08700b6c63/thumbnail_6478000.jpg","/articles/6557769/Woodford-County/Kentucky/Court-approves-EMS-career-pathway-class-with-schools-and-mental-health-counseling-for-EMS-staff","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6557769-2bd895e4d45603f8fa42c3ab86ffbbe3/orig.mp4?Expires=1775112354&Signature=abnQvoNSuc8Opv6UEmLheVhMr1arpbT1SvQk3LWI01MITEfrsod0K2ULE7vfbYIgp3l1XEPTCfk1GOiUUGGcCjqm0jJAzsbR77L52YvuH8jKzjdRY1uyyvVShubijx5upA86SkCSRSCItltFvPxFBUCpDBM50GPT~jz2Zf-P0CD2b0nwqbMXmKEx9l98Pyy6LdUGYXVPxZMpzbjfmlz~~jwSGQf6XaOp5ZuRhbLIiTDNA5uuvj-uuiaJjkLWspD1vWX5KVX8VoCIO259jTkvpopAy3NBruQQno~VecUepBRp005htDOPu9lvIe7lrQMxAXF0ROIIbLqkXByLyJaoOg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Woodford County Fiscal Court approved two EMS-focused workforce and wellness actions: a school-year EMS career-pathway class to train local students and a mental-health wellness contract to provide one-on-one screening and referral services for EMS staff.

Director Freeman Bailey told the court the county will deliver EMT instruction at the school’s planned vocational technical center starting in the 2025–26 school year under a draft memorandum of understanding. The school will provide classroom space, cover books and testing costs and is expected to support the instructor financially. The pilot class is capped at 10 students; Bailey said nine students had signed up and explained the program aims to reduce travel time students currently spend traveling to off-site EMT instruction and to offer dual-credit college hours. Students completing the program will be able to sit for National Registry testing near the end of the school year.

The court moved, by motion, to approve the draft memorandum of understanding contingent on school-board approval and authorized Judge Kaye and Director Bailey to finish negotiations. The motion passed unanimously.

In a related personnel-wellness decision, the court approved an annual $3,066 proposal from Compass (presented by freelance counselor Blake Jones) to provide mental-health screening, individual sessions and referral assistance for the county’s EMS staff. Director Bailey described the service as a one-on-one, confidential screening designed to identify employees who may need follow-up counseling or referral to longer-term care. The county framed the Compass arrangement as a pilot for EMS first responders with high exposure to traumatic incidents; the motion passed unanimously.

Bailey emphasized workforce needs: roughly 95% of his current EMS staff live outside the county, and several experienced staff are nearing retirement, making a local recruitment pipeline and early training a priority. He also described shifting the workforce so an instructor can be in the classroom full time and a replacement staffer assigned to operational shifts.

Ending
The EMS training MOU and the mental-health contract both passed the court, but the career-pathway MOU remains contingent on the school board’s approvals. The court directed staff to continue negotiations and return with finalized agreements or bid results as required.","The fiscal court approved a memorandum of understanding with local schools to deliver an EMS EMT course on the high-school campus beginning 2025–26 and approved a small annual contract for mental-health screenings and counseling support for EMS staff.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6557776,"New police chief seeks two additional officers, cites call-volume growth and equipment needs",121,2319000,2440000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3287502-9b46205b66f2fc296f240c08700b6c63&start=2319&end=2440","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3287502-9b46205b66f2fc296f240c08700b6c63/thumbnail_2319000.jpg","/articles/6557776/Woodford-County/Kentucky/New-police-chief-seeks-two-additional-officers-cites-call-volume-growth-and-equipment-needs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6557776-0ae5c7ef3fca49b68a6e421da4054dcc/orig.mp4?Expires=1775112354&Signature=jMCj1Dd1Ow4UI-yBxeNdP~ZQnqeMmZrYQ37N08jfzx-FsJxxMDrrM-Vye~d0oUJeCLhn4Ny05uMxTju79vsOXKQ2FnPV0ZYa85nvhphtnK3FrCqlftTlwPvRWsHpUdB1XeYp6UL5c-JfuU9WIWjL-~-fciPDQkuyjPrDD8S0FpZkc3Rmk7A5ThJzmBnaVGv2xEyZ8jaOzeHvnAxAN7Tkob1xTBvtkLLQeqJIG38hZqkx7tMp49GyWJh1F5U4AQeB1DtxPnicvQg31VMvPzUlsdJJQL82YIPADSuqVdAR9uAIt5rRH72qZrHfvCYmJlELIb2fEX63qkkjDzCEvcoNnA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chief Young presented the Woodford County/Versailles Police Department budget at a committee meeting, outlining staffing concerns, insurance-driven cost increases and capital priorities.

Chief Young told the court the department has remained at 41 full-time officers since a 2004 merger and requested funding to add two officers so staffing would rise to 43. He said the department faces near-term retirement risk: four officers eligible to retire now and three more within five years. An internal analysis cited by Young estimated that some positions take roughly a year to train a new recruit to solo patrol; untrained recruits are required to sign five-year service agreements.

On expenses, Young said the operating budget increase largely reflects two items: an estimated 10% increase in health insurance costs and the additional two officers’ salary/benefit costs. Salary spending for the department was described as roughly $3.8 million and hazardous-duty retirement costs at about $1.37 million, the latter partly tied to increased headcount. Young also said the city of Versailles had authorized a 3% across-the-board pay increase aligned with the annual CPI.

In capital, Young said the department reduced its requested capital spending by about $161,000 from the prior year by buying less-expensive vehicle models (replacing Tahoes with Traverses and Silverados) and relying on grants where feasible. He highlighted priorities: vehicle procurement, continued body-camera system subscriptions (companies bundle hardware and cloud storage as subscription services), a planned firewall upgrade to protect electronic access to NCIC and CAD systems, lockers for the new police building (estimated at $50,000) and continued investment in digital forensics training and equipment.

Young provided operational context: the department handled 11,190 more calls for service from 2023 to 2024 while maintaining the same headcount, and he said county population grew about 11% since 2005 according to census data he referenced. He described active hiring success — six officers hired since January — and said a cold-case detective (a retired federal agent) would start the next day.

Court members asked about training costs (Young said state training for new untrained officers is provided without a training fee, though salary and benefits continue during training) and the status of a county radio system upgrade (equipment installation underway; anticipated to go live within the month). No formal vote on the police budget occurred at the committee meeting; Young’s presentation will feed into the fiscal-year budget adoption process.

Ending
Chief Young’s presentation emphasized preparing for near-term retirements, sustaining investigative capacity and maintaining technology and fleet readiness. The court will consider the police budget as part of the broader fiscal-year 2025–26 budget process.","Chief Young presented the Versailles/Woodford police operating and capital budgets, requesting two additional officers (raising staffing from 41 to 43), noting insurance and benefit-driven cost increases and outlining capital priorities including vehicles, an upgraded radio system and lockers.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6557780,"Court approves animal-control vehicle, EMS purchases, engineering pick and several routine contracts",1258,5828000,7086000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3287502-9b46205b66f2fc296f240c08700b6c63&start=5828&end=7086","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3287502-9b46205b66f2fc296f240c08700b6c63/thumbnail_5828000.jpg","/articles/6557780/Woodford-County/Kentucky/Court-approves-animal-control-vehicle-EMS-purchases-engineering-pick-and-several-routine-contracts","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6557780-86271eb9f3335c2199c9fe545f1145d2/orig.mp4?Expires=1775112354&Signature=R2VXB14fkQnDxVufpsqEXD9dszRQ0dPZOQr8ydIwlkeJxPiBdHJqzx1yu31yNcvGH7lOndGhrKmhGCzoOUTnWH-NycMBhqzO~IE4NVjz1NlseGQFOMtohMzqDRyz0D0r4E18~FKhRTXVsle40LK5eMhKSxbg~6scSbcux~4R9eGXAa9ubdQhtN8n54ZEEzOMDYMsHFwha9zf0OOrmzh~OD-i7nEW~sl06lYYjtEZnGMDox9pJIpsvuWonHEou4mefR3IuDu1ZLfDfiluprgO9SYf87XaJtmJ-gHYrxjjqreYdpPUn4jnUX32oLusaom5wH4b-ypyx4rjqGNftFZcAw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Woodford County’s Fiscal Court approved several purchase and contracting motions during a committee-of-the-whole meeting, moving forward with equipment for animal control and emergency medical services, selecting an engineering firm for a sewer project and approving routine vendor agreements.

The court unanimously approved a $23,500 purchase from Jack King Ford for a 2020 Nissan Armada to be modified for the county’s animal care and control unit. Director Freeman Bailey told the court the vehicle fit live-trap needs and climate-control concerns.

The court authorized the EMS department to advertise and begin the bid process for a stretcher/loader unit, estimates placing the needed equipment at roughly $40,000. Director Bailey said a demo unit is available and that current storm damage left the department short one compatible stretcher.

On capital projects and professional services, the court approved recommending Bell Engineering as engineering services for the Millville sewer line project following a qualifications review. The court also accepted a road-fluids quote from Woodford Oil for the 2025–26 fiscal year and approved renewal of an administrative-office lease with the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Several of the votes were recorded as unanimous and carried without further debate.

Votes at a glance
- Animal care and control vehicle — Motion to accept Jack King Ford quote for $23,500 and authorize the judge executive to execute transfer documents. Motion by Squire Carl; second by Squire Brown. Outcome: approved unanimously.
- EMS stretcher/loader — Motion to advertise/begin bid process for a stretcher/loader (estimated ~$40,000) to be funded from EMS budget lines. Motion by Squire Gentry; second by Squire Taylor. Outcome: approved unanimously.
- Millville sewer engineering — Motion to recommend Bell Engineering for engineering services for Millville sewer line project following review. Motion by Squire Gentry; second by Squire Brown. Outcome: approved unanimously.
- Road fluids quote — Motion to accept Woodford Oil quote for fiscal year 2025–26. Motion by Squire Brown; second by Squire Gentry. Outcome: approved unanimously.
- AOC lease reimbursement/authorization — Motion to approve the Administrative Office of the Courts facilities reimbursement lease agreement and authorize execution. Motion by Squire Gentry; second by Squire Brown. Outcome: approved unanimously.

How the court documented these actions: motions were made and seconded on the record and votes were taken by vocal “aye” or “nay.” Several items were presented by department directors (Freeman Bailey, Emily Castle, others) with short staff reports before the court voted. The formal motions and vote calls appear in the transcript at the times noted in provenance.

Ending
The approved motions clear the way for vehicle procurement and EMS equipment buying, allow the Millville sewer design procurement process to proceed, and continue routine vendor and lease arrangements. Several projects approved require subsequent contract documents or bid awards before payment or project start.
","At its committee meeting, the Woodford County Fiscal Court approved a set of motions including purchase of a vehicle for animal care, authorization to advertise for an EMS stretcher/loader, appointment of Bell Engineering for the Millville sewer line project and routine vendor/lease items.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Court signs off on UnitedHealthcare renewal after broker secures lower rate; slight plan tweaks proposed

Court approves EMS career-pathway class with schools and mental-health counseling for EMS staff

New police chief seeks two additional officers, cites call-volume growth and equipment needs

Court approves animal-control vehicle, EMS purchases, engineering pick and several routine contracts