Skamania County approves three labor and pay package changes; raises employee share of medical premiums

SKAMANIA COUNTY, Wash. — The Skamania County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved three personnel-related measures: the OPEIU managers unit contract (effective Jan. 1, 2025), the OPEIU public works unit contract (effective Jan. 1, 2025) and a proposed compensation-and-benefits package for nonunion employees (effective Feb. 1, 2025).

The measures were added to the meeting agenda as a walk-in amendment and were approved by voice vote. A county staff member told the board the contracts require retroactive payroll adjustments and that the county will increase the employee portion of medical insurance from 10% to 15% under the agreements.

The change in medical-premium contributions was presented to the board as a cost-saving move. An HR staff member (name not provided) told commissioners, “there is a cost savings to the county, because we did increase health insurance employee portion paid, which was 10% and now it's 15%. So that's gonna save the county about a hundred thousand dollars per year in health insurance cost.” The staff member also said shifting an existing $44.40-per-month association dues payment to nonunion employees would save the county about $34,000 annually.

Board members said the contracts were negotiated recently and that processing retro-pay will be time-consuming. The board moved and seconded each approval and recorded voice votes; the transcript records ayes and the chair declared the motions carried.

What the board approved

- OPEIU managers unit contract, effective Jan. 1, 2025. Motion to approve made from the floor; seconded; approved by voice vote. - OPEIU public works unit contract, effective Jan. 1, 2025. Motion to approve made from the floor; seconded; approved by voice vote. - Proposed compensation and benefits for nonunion employees, effective Feb. 1, 2025. The package includes a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), the increased 15% employee share of medical premiums and moving the previously county-paid $44.40 monthly association dues onto the nonunion employees; motion made, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Officials noted administrative steps remaining, including collecting signatures and processing retroactive payroll changes.

Votes at a glance

- All three items were approved by voice vote. The meeting transcript records unanimous “aye” responses and the chair declared each motion carried; individual recorded vote tallies or roll-call names are not specified in the transcript.

Why it matters

Raising the employee share of medical premiums and shifting association dues are county-level budget choices that reduce immediate county expenditures but increase direct costs for affected employees. Commissioners and staff acknowledged retroactive payroll work and said HR and payroll would handle back pay and processing.

Staff and attribution

Statements about cost impacts and retroactive payroll processing were made by a county HR/payroll staff member (name not provided) during the discussion. Motions to approve were made and seconded by commissioners in the meeting record (movers/seconders not identified by full name in the transcript). The chair presided over voice votes and declared motions carried.

Ending

The board completed the approvals and moved on to routine vouchers, payroll and other agenda items later in the meeting.