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Human Resources requests flat general fund but flags rising health claims and pilots family‑care options
Summary
The human resources director presented a flat general‑fund budget request focused on leadership development and recruitment pipelines and warned the committee that the city’s self‑insured health plan is forecasted to see an 18.4% rise in claims for FY26.
Chief Human Resources Officer Fonda Foushee told the budget committee the HR general fund request for FY26 is essentially flat at roughly $10.15 million. The general fund priorities are leadership development, recruitment pipelines and improved employee experience through career pathways and a revamped HR business partner model.
Foushee said HR will add a metrics dashboard to track time‑to‑fill, retirements, safety incidents, call center performance and investigations so the division can better measure outcomes and drive accountability. The general fund complement was reported as 63 positions across HR programs, with the general fund holding 48 positions.
On benefits, HR reported the health insurance fund request of about $107.7 million for FY26. The division forecasted health‑care claims rising 18.4% over FY25 and said that growth is driven by national trends and renewed utilization — particularly elective procedures that were deferred during the pandemic — and rising drug costs. HR plans to expand the employee health center services to include occupational health, physical therapy and diabetes management and to run a marketing campaign to increase employee awareness and participation in wellness and chronic‑condition programs.
Committee members discussed data collection and return on investment. Foushee said HR tracks utilization, incentives redemption, and clinic usage and provides quarterly health‑committee reports; she and council members also discussed piloting a family‑care option that would include child‑care and elder‑care support for certain workforce groups (dispatchers were cited as a near‑term pilot) and the possible introduction of lifestyle spending accounts.
On retiree coverage OPEB, HR requested roughly $35.5 million and described a modest increase in expected claims and a plan to host retiree wellness events to drive engagement. HR said it would not raise employee premiums in FY26 despite forecasted claim increases.
Committee members asked for continued data on utilization and outcomes, including whether preventive programs reduce long‑term claims; HR said it will provide utilization figures and that some anecdotal cases (for example, biometric screening identifying serious conditions) supported the preventive approach.
No formal council action was taken during the hearing; the committee asked HR for additional metrics and more detailed cost‑benefit material on the health‑center expansion and family‑care pilots.
