Human resources staff told commissioners the county’s grandfathered law-enforcement retirees Medicare plan will renew with a 5.42% increase in premiums, and the department requested authorization to use outside employment-law counsel on an hourly basis.

Jessica Warren of human resources said the retiree plan (for a small, grandfathered group of law-enforcement retirees) increased by 5.42%, or roughly $25 per member per month. Warren estimated the group to include about 13 members but said the exact number was not available at the meeting because the plan membership has decreased over time.

Warren also presented a proposed personal-services agreement with an outside employment-law attorney to provide specialized employment-law assistance when needed. She said the county has used the attorney through the risk pool and that the proposed billing rate is $275 per hour; the county would pay by the hour as services are used rather than a retainer. Warren said the county’s primary employment-law attorney has been less available recently, prompting the arrangement.

Commissioners did not record a formal roll-call vote in the transcript; the items were presented on the consent agenda as routine renewals and contracting authority.