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Columbia County committees approve RFPs for pharmacy, cafeteria and health-plan services; update payroll policy
Summary
The county’s government committee authorized requests for proposals for pharmacy benefit management, Section 125 cafeteria plan and the ASO health plan, and approved revisions to the uniform payroll policy after staff review of classifications and remote-work rules.
Columbia County’s government committee voted April 2025 to request proposals for three employee-benefit services and approved an update to the county’s uniform payroll policy.
The committee authorized county staff to issue requests for proposals for the county’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), its Section 125 cafeteria plan (flexible spending) and its administrative services only (ASO) self-insured health plan. Michael (department head) described the current arrangement and timetable: “Traditionally, we enter into a 3 year agreement with 2 additional 1 years,” and said the county wants to include all three services in the RFP process because the existing contracts “are set to expire at the end of this year.” The motion to issue the RFPs was moved and seconded and carried by voice vote.
As part of the same Government Committee session, staff presented a revised uniform payroll policy originally adopted by board resolution in February 2014. The revisions add a table of contents, expanded classification schedules for nonunion titles and updated accrual and cap rules for vacation and compensatory time. A staff member identified key policy additions: “We have added the no work from home area unless under an ADA reasonable accommodation,” and said the schedules “fully break down and classify how every single position is handled.” Committee members clarified that the county does not provide general work-from-home as a default and that after-hours on-call duties are treated differently from scheduled remote work. Following discussion a supervisor moved to adopt the payroll revisions; the motion was seconded and approved by the committee.
Why it matters: the RFPs begin a procurement process that will select vendors for benefits covering a large portion of the county workforce; the payroll updates change classification and leave accrual standards that affect hiring and compensation administration. Staff said the RFP process will follow the county’s standard procurement timelines and that further procurement documents will be brought back to the board as required.
Details and next steps: staff will prepare and release the RFPs for PBM, Section 125 and ASO services; the HR-related policy text will be finalized and published to departmental payroll procedures.
