County HR reports 62 vacancies, $12.6M health trust balance and lower work-comp severity

Tammy Skrymovsky of Flathead County human resources presented June recruitment and benefits metrics to the Board of Commissioners, saying the county had 62 position vacancies and seven seasonal positions included in that count and that 16 new hires were pending.

Skrymovsky said both May and June had 11 job postings that covered roughly 30 positions; the office received 152 applications in May and 207 in June, and average days to fill vacancies varied across months (36 in April, 117 in May, 50 in June). She said application volume is position-dependent and that some high-traffic listings generated many unqualified applicants.

On worker safety and claims, HR reported about 82 incidents for the fiscal year to date with approximately $127,000 in claim dollars, the lowest total the staff member had seen in some time. Skrymovsky attributed the lower severity to earlier reporting and faster follow-up.

Skrymovsky also reported the county's health insurance trust fund ended fiscal year 2025 with a balance of about $12.6 million. She said overall expenses rose about 7.8% from the prior year while revenues grew about 1.24%, and that increased premiums accounted for the revenue change.

Commissioners asked whether premium increases drove the trust-fund change; Skrymovsky said they did and noted reduced miscellaneous revenue (rebates and stop-loss reimbursements) compared with the prior year.

No formal action was taken; commissioners accepted the personnel transaction list later in the meeting as a separate motion and approved it by voice vote.