County Clerk Misty Kimbrough and several county employees pressed Aransas County commissioners on a possible reduction in retiree health benefits at a Commissioners Court workshop in Rockport, saying cuts would jeopardize recruitment and retention of experienced staff.

Kimbrough said the promise of continued health coverage after retirement influenced her decision to join the county and that removing the benefit would harm “single moms” and other employees who can’t afford private coverage. “Taking away a benefit that has been an expectation for your employees the entire time they’ve been employed is not right,” Kimbrough said.

The workshop included a presentation from Human Resources Director Desiree (last name not provided in the transcript), who delivered an analysis of current retiree coverage and proposed a tiered approach to future retiree contributions as a compromise to reduce county costs while continuing partial coverage for new retirees.

Desiree said the county currently covers about 10 retirees, costing roughly $93,000 annually, and that retirees on average remain on county insurance about 5.43 years. She proposed an initial tiered schedule that would scale county contributions by years of service: lower percentages for shorter service and larger percentages for long-tenured employees. Commissioners and staff discussed raising the minimum service threshold and refining the tiers before making any change.

During the discussion court members and departmental leaders said retiree health coverage is an important recruitment and retention tool for positions that take many months to train. Rockport district clerk Zach Westlake said turnover after long training periods “drags down production,” and several department heads described difficulty recruiting and retaining experienced staff without competitive benefits.

Commissioners and staff debated the appropriate service thresholds. Several participants recommended raising the floor above an eight-year vesting threshold that appeared in earlier drafts. By the end of the discussion the court informally favored adjusting the proposal to a structure that several commissioners described as 50% county contribution at 10 years, 70% at 15 years and 90% at 20 or more years of county service for employees hired after the effective date; current retirees would be grandfathered.

No formal vote or ordinance was adopted at the workshop. Desiree said the tiered rules would apply only to employees retiring after the policy’s effective date and that the details — including whether the county contribution would follow the base or the buy-up plan if a dual-plan structure is adopted for active employees — would need further refinement and a formal court action.

The conversation also touched on Medicare-eligible retirees and the county’s options for offering supplemental Medicare coverage for post-65 retirees. Desiree and commissioners agreed to pursue additional pricing and options for Medicare supplement products and group retiree coverage before the court sets a final policy.

Next steps: staff will return with revised tier thresholds and costing scenarios for court consideration; any change would be effective only for future retirees and would not remove benefits from current retirees.