Sullivan County HR committee approves new community services position; examines benefits, buyout and Medicare reimbursements

The Sullivan County Human Resources Committee voted to create one new position in the Department of Community Services and spent the meeting reviewing personnel and benefits matters, including buyout totals, retiree Medicare reimbursement calculations and plans to reconcile health-insurance data.

Committee members approved the resolution to create the new community services position by voice vote; the committee then moved to an executive session to discuss the employment and medical-financial-credit of a particular individual for roughly five minutes.

The vote followed a routine departmental report from HR staff. Julie, a staff member in the county human resources office, reported civil service approval of several requested positions tied to the county's health program and said the office would begin entering Medicare Part B reimbursements into the county's financial system "with the goal of having them completed by March." She provided comparative annual premium figures cited under the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) and Anthem plans, noting NYSHIP offers discounts for Medicare-covered individuals while Anthem does not. Julie told the committee, "I'll give you a copy of this when we're done."

Why it matters: The committee's actions affect hiring in community services and carry budget implications tied to retiree- and employee-health costs, buyout payouts and the county's insurance contracts. Members and several public commenters also pressed for clearer presentation of total compensation to help inform recruitment and retention decisions.

Key details from staff reports and public comment:

- Buyout and payroll: HR reported that just under 70 employees were scheduled for a buyout in 2024; the committee did not provide a completed tally for 2025. Payroll certifications: five employees were certified since last month.

- Unemployment hearings: HR has one scheduled unemployment hearing on Feb. 19; Tammy Roach from the HR office handles these hearings.

- Medicare reimbursements and premiums: Julie gave example annual figures cited under NYSHIP and Anthem. She said NYSHIP annual individual reimbursement figures and family plan comparisons differ substantially from Anthem's listed premiums and that Medicare typically pays about 80 percent of claims. Staff intend to start entering Medicare Part B reimbursements into the county's accounting system (New World) and aim to have that work completed by March. Committee members asked for additional cost breakdowns.

- Insurance and contracts: Cybersecurity and crime insurance policies were renewed. Staff said an updated resolution will be submitted to correct an earlier PERMA item and that another resolution for a county-attorney position correction will be forwarded to the executive committee.

- Human Rights and incident reporting: The county's human-rights report showed two incidents since last month; both were housing-related, staff said.

- Public comment and compensation transparency: Several members of the public urged the committee to provide clearer total-compensation statements for employees, including employer-paid health insurance value, county costs for Medicare, Social Security contributions and disability costs. One commenter identified as Ken (Resident) said the county should provide a total-value statement for positions: "I think people need to know what their total value is," he told the committee. Committee members agreed the HRIS system could produce the information but noted some of the work would be manual because of different union contracts.

- Community events and proclamations: Committee members said they will present a proclamation supporting Black History Month on Feb. 20 and invited community groups including Monticello and My Brother's Keeper to participate.

Votes at a glance:

- Resolution to create one new position in the Department of Community Services — Passed by voice vote; recorded as 4 in favor, none opposed (committee tally reported as "4 zip").

Next steps: Staff said they would circulate the detailed benefit and Medicare-reimbursement figures to committee members, follow up with a corrected PERMA resolution for the executive committee, and provide the requested total-compensation breakdowns (some manual) for different pay groups and union contracts. The meeting moved into a short executive session on a personnel matter after the vote.