Supervisors OK plan to shift $10,000 to risk management for county fitness-center maintenance

The Linn County Board of Supervisors discussed and moved forward Monday on a plan to allocate $10,000 from capital-project savings to the risk management budget for maintenance and replacement of county employee fitness-center equipment.

Sarah Burrows, the county budget director, told the board savings of $18,754 from a late budget reconciliation were placed in the capital repair budget; she proposed allocating $10,000 of that to risk management for fitness-center maintenance and replacement. "That $18,754 was moved to the capital repair budget in the general fund... we thought we should put the agenda item back on for discussion to see if there was interest in allocating $10,000 of that $18,000 to go to the risk management budget to, either maintain or replace equipment in the fitness centers," Burrows said.

Board members debated policy tradeoffs. One supervisor noted the county already offers gym membership reimbursements and said "we pay over $26,000 annually in gym membership reimbursements," questioning whether both programs are needed. Other supervisors said the funding would support maintenance rather than installing a new facility and highlighted workforce and retention benefits tied to employee wellness offerings.

Supervisors indicated support for placing the item on the Wednesday consent agenda for formal approval. Risk management and budget staff said the funding would support maintenance and replacement across county fitness centers (excluding the sheriff's), and staff recommended placing the appropriation in the risk management budget.