Hamilton County commissioners approve 2026 benefits changes, safety-planning contract and consent agenda

The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 16 approved a set of routine and substantive items including the county's 2026 employee benefits program, a consultant contract for a countywide safety plan and a multi-item consent agenda.

The action matters because the benefits changes include a pharmacy-network shift that county staff say will save about $800,000 annually, and the safety-plan contract is federally funded and intended to guide future traffic and pedestrian-safety projects in unincorporated Hamilton County.

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the employee benefits package through a "by leave" motion after staff described three principal changes: a roughly 3% average increase in employee contribution rates, a voluntary type-2 diabetes program that provides continuous glucose monitors at no cost to eligible participants, and a carrier-driven pharmacy-network anchor that would remove CVS from the plan's in-network pharmacies and anchor the plan to Walgreens (keeping Walgreens, Kroger and Meijer in-network). County staff said the pharmacy change is expected to generate about $800,000 in plan savings without immediately increasing out-of-pocket cost to employees.

Sarah Erwin, the county staff member presenting the benefits package, told commissioners the pharmacy change is negotiated by the insurer and that employees would retain access to Walgreens and other in-network pharmacies. She described the Level 2 diabetes program as voluntary and initially cost-neutral, with a stated goal that most participants would reduce their A1C over time.

The board also approved a consultant agreement with Burgess & Niple for a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, project 502503, for a total contract not-to-exceed $500,000. Todd Long of the county engineer's office said roughly $400,000 of the contract will be covered by a Safe Streets for All federal grant and the remaining $100,000 will come from the permissive auto fund. The plan, Long said, will analyze needs across unincorporated townships and could recommend intersection improvements, pedestrian facilities and other countermeasures.

Separately, the commission authorized payment of about $1,000 to acquire a standard highway easement for a stabilization and drainage improvement on East Miami River Road in Colerain Township; Todd Long said that amount covers the easement acquisition only and that the broader construction project will carry additional costs.

The board approved the full consent agenda (items 3 through 17) by unanimous vote. The consent items included these notable entries: acceptance of September financial transactions; appropriation of grants in the coroner's and sheriff's offices and an auditor supplemental related to a finance system (combined $586,634); multiple Job & Family Services agreements totaling about $7,100,000 (including residential treatment and group-home services); a waste-reduction grant for $15,000; purchase orders for IT firewall and claims-processing systems; and other routine reports and approvals.

Votes recorded in the meeting minutes showed unanimous approval on all motions called: approval of minutes, the by-leave benefits item, the Burgess & Niple contract, the East Miami River Road easement and the consent agenda. Commissioners present and recorded voting "Yes" were Commissioner Driehaus, Commissioner Summer O'Dumas, Commissioner Alicia Reese and Commissioner Denise Treehouse.

Several commissioners asked clarifying questions during discussion of the benefits package. Commissioners pressed staff on whether the pharmacy change would affect small independent pharmacies, how employee prescription patterns (Walgreens vs. CVS) would affect the decision, and what protections existed if a pharmacy chain reorganized. Staff said Kroger is the system's highest-volume pharmacy and that carriers typically assist employees who need to transfer prescriptions in advance of a network change. Commissioners also confirmed that the county's on-site clinic (Marathon Health) remains in place and that the proposed changes were part of a multi-year negotiation.

The board completed the regular agenda items and adjourned.