County struggles with budget cuts that aren’t employee-based

Cutting operational expenses outside of employee wages and benefits is going to be a hard road for the county council.

The council continues to maintain that the loss of tax revenue from the overzealous tax cuts by the state legislature has continued to widen the deficit between the county’s budget and its annual revenue. The deficit has increased for the past three budget cycles forcing the council to prop it up with economic development income taxes (EDIT). Unfortunately, last year the $1.65 million deficit required them to pull more from the EDIT fund than the county received from the state.

Based on this, the Council is searching for ways to cut spending.

The meeting Tuesday night gave department heads 15 minutes to speak to the council about their department budgets. The council will finish up with those meetings Wednesday night beginning at 5:30 in the council chambers at the Annex Building.

Councilman Craig Greulich and other council members examining the budget have found that wages and benefits accounted for about 83 percent of the county’s budget in 2015. This fact was apparent as department heads stretched to find operational expenses they could cut that weren’t employee driven.

Greulich also pointed out that since 2000, the counties employee wages and benefits had increased 105 percent while revenue had only increased 64 percent.

Fueled by a recent suggestion to drop a $5,000 stipend the county pays to judges and prosecuting attorneys, Dubois County Superior Court Judge Mark McConnell, Circuit Court Judge Nathan Verkamp and Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Quinn all criticized the council’s seemingly arbitrary decision to drop them from the county’s insurance plan last year as well as the consideration to drop the stipend.

The state covers the wages for the two judges, the prosecuting attorney and his deputy. The move last year forced them to sign up for the state’s insurance plan which is a significantly more expensive for them compared to the county’s plan.

Judge McConnell stated the new plan he is on has a $5,000 deductible. He added that he pays between $3000 to $4,000 for premiums.

County insurance costs significantly less. County employees who take part in the annual health screening have a reduced deductible of $250 for a single plan or $500 for a family plan. If they don’t take part in the screening, that amount goes up to $500 and $750 respectfully.

Also, the employee’s monthly premiums are $16.50 for a single plan and $41.50 for a family plan.

If an employee is healthy, the plans cost the county about $765.60 for a single plan and $1,711.63 for a family plan each month — this is an aggregate cost. However, since the county is self-funded (it does not have an insurance carrier), it holds money in a trust that pays an additional amount out each month to cover employee health expenses. That amount can vary each month and is directly impacted by what health issues occur with the county’s employees.

McConnell asked the council members if they had considered dropping from the county’s insurance plan to save the county money. The council members and commissioners are eligible for the health insurance offered through the county.

No one on the council answered him.

In regards to the loss of the stipend, Verkamp said he felt like the courts were being singled out for some reason. “I didn’t hear of any other individual singled out in that session,” he said. “I would like to talk to the person who made that suggestion to explain what we do for the county.”

Verkamp said the county has the 10th busiest courts in the state. He said that counties with similar populations are operating with three full courts compared to Dubois County’s two. “We haven’t asked for that. I come in on Sunday and get it done because we want to save the county money,” he added. “We try. We work hard for the county.”

Council president Greg Kendall explained that the stipend suggestion was just one of several made during the special meeting, and it wasn’t a final decision.

The council continues to hint around at the exorbitant costs associated with employee healthcare but the senior council members, Jerry Hunefeld and Gregg Kendall, have indicated they are apprehensive about pushing more of those costs onto employees. Kendall has maintained that the perceived lower wages of county employees are offset by the generous insurance plans and benefits the county provides.

As the plans are managed by the county commissioners, any changes will have to come through them although the council ultimately approves the budget for those expenses.

Outside of employee wages and benefits, suggestions were thin. Health Department director Donna Oeding said the county could consider adopting more technology to reduce the time spent on some tasks. She specifically pointed out the loss of work time she has every two weeks to track and report employee hours.

Oeding also recommended combining the departmental supply purchases to a single purchase to cut costs through bulk purchasing.

The council did not directly respond to any suggestions or comments made by the department heads but according to Hunefeld, the meeting gave them a better understanding of the needs of the departments. “Everybody had ideas. Everybody had input,” he said. “I was in listening mode. It was information I needed to hear from them.”

Kendall added that he felt the meeting went well. “I’m not so sure we shouldn’t have a meeting like this every year,” he said.

The county council will finish up with meeting the department heads tonight.