Fiscal Court signs interlocal health-insurance agreement; exit requires 120 days’ notice

Grant County Fiscal Court voted to authorize Judge Executive Chuck Dills to sign an interlocal agreement to join a multi-entity joint program providing health insurance to member employees, the courthouse staff said.

The nut graf: The agreement — which includes numerous government entities listed in the interlocal document — creates a joint program for health coverage that county employees (including courthouse, library and road department staff) will use; members can exit with 120 days’ notice.

Judge Dills explained that the interlocal groups about 20 entities and that a 10-year commitment he and county attorney Stephen Bates had worried about is mitigated by the agreement’s exit language. The court noted the agreement requires 120 days’ notice to withdraw from the joint program; a magistrate confirmed that 120 days equates to roughly a six-month notice period.

Magistrate Code (recorded in the minutes as the mover) made the motion to authorize the judge executive to sign the joint exercise-of-powers agreement; Magistrate Humphrey seconded. The motion carried after the court said “aye.”

Judge Dills said the interlocal approach reduces administrative burden compared with renewing a multi-agency plan every two years because each member jurisdiction must approve participation through its governing body. He also said the county and library will “piggyback” on the program for employee coverage.

Ending: The court recorded the motion as carried and will execute the interlocal documents as part of the county’s employee benefits administration.