The Oklahoma County Budget Evaluation Team voted to recommend the Budget Board transfer $500,000 from general fund reserves to Employee Benefits on a 300/200 split, to help the county pharmacy buy prescriptions at the start of the new fiscal year and provide a short-term cushion.

John, a county staff member who presented the Employee Benefits report, told the panel the benefits fund was temporarily "out of cash in the fund" because of timing: reimbursements and prescription rebates lag payments. He said about $2,200,000 was expected to come in at a special Budget Board meeting on Thursday and that the county expects roughly $1,200,000 in prescription rebates. "We're running about $300,000 a month," John said of pharmacy utilization. "It's just really a cash flow issue."

The recommendation sent to the Budget Board was amended on the floor: commissioners advised drawing $300,000 from the reserve's one-time funds and $200,000 from ongoing reserve funds rather than taking the full amount from one category. The team recorded the vote with the chair saying, "Ayes have it," and the recommendation will go to the Budget Board for final action.

Why it matters: Employee Benefits officials said the infusion would let the county pharmacy purchase a month's worth of prescriptions at the beginning of the next fiscal year and reduce the risk of interruptions while rebate and premium reimbursement timing evens out. John said medical claims were down about $389,000 year to date compared with the same time last fiscal year, while prescription costs were up about $994,000 (about 8%). Those offsets, plus expected rebates, were central to the team's calculation that $300,000 would be sufficient to start the new year.

Supporting details and next steps: John described the county's practice of fronting roughly $300,000 monthly since February and said that under the adjusted process reimbursements usually arrive about two months later. The team also discussed that if claims spike the group could request additional transfers or call a special budget meeting. Separately, the team recommended a $7,574 transfer from one-time reserve funds to cover potential commissioners' unemployment charges; that recommendation also will go to the Budget Board.

The Budget Evaluation Team recorded a separate motion to receive the Employee Benefits report, which passed, and planners said the recommended transfers would be placed on the Budget Board agenda for the next scheduled meeting.