Supervisors review jail medical contracts; board asks staff to revise contract language on CPI increases

The board discussed independent-contractor agreements for jail medical services and asked staff to revise contract language to clarify annual CPI (consumer price index) increases before final approval. Trisha Barnard (jail administrator) presented contracts for physician and dental services; supervisors questioned whether the agreements included automatic CPI-based increases and whether those increases were reflected in the monthly rates. Barnard said the intent was to apply an annual increase of no less than 2% and no more than 3% based on prior-year CPI, but several contract drafts listed fixed dollar amounts that did not clearly incorporate the CPI adjustment. Nut graf: Supervisors did not finalize amended compensation language on the record; they directed staff to redraft the contracts to state the correct base amounts and include the intended CPI adjustment so pay increases occur on the July 1 cycle going forward. Discussion focused on specific amounts. Barnard said the physician contract was currently listed at $7,500 per month but she expected a CPI increase; others noted the contract language did not show a specific percentage increase and recommended returning with updated wording. The board discussed making multiyear contracts and aligning contract terms to a July 1–June 30 cycle to avoid gaps in coverage and ensure predictable annual adjustments. Ending: Supervisors requested staff to revise all three contractor agreements (physician, dentist and dental assistant) to reflect the correct current-year compensation and the mechanism for CPI adjustments and to bring the redrafted contracts back to the board for approval.