Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Broadwater County approves 2.5% COLA and will cover health-insurance premium increase
Summary
After weeks of modeling and discussion the commission on May 14 approved a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment for county employees for fiscal year 2026 and agreed the county will cover an immediate health-insurance premium increase for current employees.
Broadwater County commissioners voted May 14 to grant a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment for county employees for fiscal year 2026 and to have the county pay the recent increase in health-insurance premiums.
Commissioners, county finance staff and department leaders reviewed several options, including a 3.5% COLA recommended by the compensation board that would have required employees to pay the insurance increase out of their paychecks. Finance Officer Debbie Kelly and commissioners said the county’s insurance-trust premium rose significantly this year (an increase described in the meeting as about $74 per month per covered employee), and the county would cover that premium increase for the 68 employees on the plan. “That increase is a total of about $60,384 for the 68 employees using that health insurance,” a commissioner said during the discussion.
The discussion balanced net take-home pay under different scenarios and the administrative impact to departments that must budget personnel costs. Commissioners and staff noted the county’s insurance package is valuable and that covering the premium increase reduces out-of-pocket risk for employees.
After deliberation a motion to set the COLA at 2.5 percent and authorize the county to pay the health-insurance premium increase was made, seconded and passed unanimously by voice vote.
Commissioners said they will reassess insurance and COLA decisions in future budget cycles and monitor the county’s cash balance and revenue changes before setting future increases.
