Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Health And Benefits topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Division of Personnel seeks $63.4M; health‑insurance renewal, recruitment and LMS rollout top list
Summary
Division of Personnel asked for a $63.36 million FY2026 package (mostly health insurance and related miscellaneous items). Officials told the committee they are negotiating Cigna/UnitedHealthcare renewals and planning a learning‑management rollout and territorial recruitment campaign.
The Division of Personnel presented its FY2026 request to the Budget Committee on June 26, asking legislators to approve an OMB‑recommended total of $63,364,866 (largely made up of group health insurance and related miscellaneous items). Director Cindy L. Richardson told senators the division is working on multiple fronts to modernize government HR services, expand training and stabilize health‑insurance costs.
“ We are committed to building a modern workforce for the government of the Virgin Islands,” Richardson said in opening remarks.
Health insurance dominated the presentation. The division reported total group health plan payments of about $134.55 million through May 31 (employer and employee shares combined) and said the FY2025 plan experienced a near‑10% increase compared with FY2024. The GSE Health Insurance Board of Trustees informed the committee that primary renewals from Cigna (active employees/retirees) and UnitedHealthcare (Medicare retirees) were being negotiated. The board’s memo — read into the record during the hearing — showed an initial actuarial renewal well above current premiums; after negotiations and proposed plan changes (including pharmacy‑utilization management and removal of weight‑loss medication coverage) the board and consultant narrowed their ask to a lower rate increase in the high‑teens range. Division staff said the board was still negotiating and exploring options to reduce the rate impact without materially changing co‑pays, deductibles or network access.
Division leaders also described rolling out a territorial learning management system (LMS) and a recruitment marketing campaign. The LMS procurement is intended to give every central‑government employee access to a catalog of tens of thousands of online courses and to centralize course tracking, certification and compliance. The division said the LMS implementation budget is roughly $250,000 and that it expects broad staff access, course‑tracking and blended learning capabilities.
On recruitment and classification, the division said it has processed thousands of personnel actions — 2,363 NOPA actions were cited in testimony — and that it is updating job descriptions and tests across agencies. Recruitment statistics presented by the division showed spikes in candidate referrals during October and April; the division stressed that hiring volumes are tied to available funding and that central government agencies remain short‑staffed in several classifications.
Staff also briefed the committee on the GBI Fellows program (early‑career placements across government), the Virgin Islands Certified Public Managers program and the government’s wellness calendar (a health expo and “Battle of the Agencies” events to encourage staff participation). The division asked senators for timely consideration of the FY2026 request and said it would provide updated personnel listings and a reconciliation of a few budget line items that committee members flagged during the session.
