Board creates standing employee health-insurance advisory committee after 10-month ad hoc review

The Rock County Board approved a resolution to create a standing Employee Health Insurance Advisory Committee that will meet annually to develop recommendations for benefits and premiums for the next budget year.

Supervisor Townes, who chaired the ad hoc committee that produced the recommendation, told the board the ad hoc panel met roughly a dozen times over about 10 months and concluded that retaining a standing committee would preserve institutional knowledge and provide employee input to budget planning. "They completed their report as charged by the April 1 and it has been given to the county board staff committee as charged and to the county administrator," Townes said in explaining the motion.

Under the approved resolution the committee will be a single-purpose advisory body composed of three supervisors and 16 employees chosen by random selection. The committee will convene beginning in August each year and will offer recommendations early in the annual budget cycle (by April 1) to county board staff and the county administrator. Board members emphasized the committee is advisory; it will not make final budget decisions.

Supervisor Schwartz questioned whether such work should be handled entirely within HR and how long a standing committee would need to operate; Townes and other supervisors said the committee is intended to be advisory and to preserve employee input and institutional knowledge discovered during the ad hoc review. Supervisor Holman asked whether the employee-member count would remain fixed; Townes noted the resolution sets the membership at 16 employees unless the board amends the resolution.

A motion to create the committee was made by Supervisor Townes and seconded by Supervisor Bridal. The board approved the resolution by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.