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St. Joseph County commissioners approve routine payments, dental rate increase and DebtBook subscription
Summary
At their meeting the board approved the accounts payable docket, bills from the county council, a 3% increase to employee dental rates (the first since 2016), a DebtBook subscription covering leases/subscriptions/debt, and a Laredo data-access agreement.
The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners approved a set of routine but consequential items during its Tuesday meeting: the accounts payable docket, bills passed by the County Council, a 3% increase in employee dental rates, a DebtBook contract covering leases/subscriptions/debt management, and a Laredo data-access agreement for the recorder's office.
Courtney Mullins of Human Resources briefed the board on dental rate renewals and said, "This is the first time that we are going to increase rates since 2016. It's a 3%." Mullins noted that Paramount originally proposed a 9% increase and that average dental premium increases are about 1.4% per year, while health insurance premiums rose 22% to 24% over the same period. She estimated the change will raise costs for an average employee by about $1 per month.
Abby Doyle, chief deputy auditor, explained the DebtBook subscription selected covers leases, software subscriptions and debt management for bonds held by the redevelopment commission and the county as a whole: "This is gonna cover leases, subscriptions, so software subscriptions, and debt." The board approved taking the DebtBook contract off the table and then approved the contract and addendum.
The recorder's Laredo agreement for Michael Farrell — a routine data-access request — was approved without discussion.
Votes at a glance: - Accounts payable docket: approved (Commissioners Hazen, Dieter, Baxmayer voted aye). - Bills passed by County Council: approved (aye votes recorded). - Demolition hearings: tabled until next week (unanimous aye). - Dental rate renewal (3% increase): approved (aye votes recorded). - DebtBook contract and addendum: approved. - Laredo agreement: approved.
What was not available at the meeting: specific dollar amounts for the DebtBook subscription and the total contract price for the Dell lease were not provided; program funding sources were not specified during discussions.
