Madison County officials propose trimming health-plan contribution and lower levy notice ahead of public hearing

At a Madison County work session, county officials discussed reducing the county's contribution to its self-insured employee health fund and publishing lower levy rates for a forthcoming public hearing.

Officials said lowering the county contribution to the fund ' previously adjusted to stabilize an underfunded balance ' could yield roughly $160,000 in annual savings under the example discussed. "We did 89 employees that are on the plan times a $150 a month times 12, that would reduce, $160,000 from the budget," said Speaker 2.

The proposed contribution change is one element officials said would allow a reduction in the general supplemental levy from 1.83 to 1.73, a cut of about $0.10 per $1,000 of assessed value. "We were able to lower the general supplemental levy from 1.83 down to 1.73," said Speaker 1, adding that the draft budget would still close the year with a projected 21.16 percent fund balance in the general supplemental account.

Officials also identified a net property-tax reduction of $121,677 tied to the combination of insurance adjustments and removing a planned election-equipment upgrade from the budget. Speaker 1 said the $121,677 represented the difference between levy figures presented previously and the lower figures staff planned to publish.

Board members and staff discussed the history of the county's self-insured "Green Health" fund. Speaker 2 recounted earlier years when the fund balance was strained and explained the county pays contributions into the fund to cover claims up to a reinsurance threshold (described in the session as $50,000), after which reinsurance takes over.

Not all participants supported further reductions to the fund's cushion. Speaker 3 cited an external estimate that the fund balance was about $405,100 and warned of uncertainty if many employees shift to high-deductible plans, a change that could increase county costs. "If 75% sign up for it, it'll cost the county more money," Speaker 2 said during the exchange about enrollment risk.

The work session also included budget-line changes: Speaker 1 said staff added a previously omitted $5,000 annual line for Dr. Suddath, identified in the discussion as the medical director, and restored a $28,000 cash-flow line tied to MGADC expenses. Speaker 1 said the medical examiner budget already exceeded $606,100 and that $5,000 would be reallocated from a supervisor's line to the medical examiner account to cover immediate needs.

Participants noted that some routine local costs are variable, including on-call or scene fees for death notifications (cited examples: Kimball at about $125 and Sherry Young at about $200 plus mileage) and occasional autopsy or state-referral costs ranging in the transcript from about $2,000 to $4,000 depending on circumstances.

Because the meeting was a work session, no formal decisions were recorded; Speaker 2 said the goal was to reach consensus on the wording to publish in the county's levy notice so a lower figure would appear in the paper. The group confirmed the next procedural step: a public hearing on the levy rates scheduled for the 23rd.

Throughout the discussion, participants requested clearer fund-balance documentation so all members could compare FY24 and FY25 figures in a consistent format before the formal hearing. Speaker 3 specifically asked staff to provide consistent FY24 and FY25 fund-balance reports prior to that review.

The matter will move to the public notice and hearing process; no formal vote on the levy or on permanent contribution changes was recorded at this work session.