Officials preview modest health-insurance increase and debate PTO limits for future hires

Lueneburg told the committee the county is going out to bid for the 2027 health insurance plan and expects renewal rates to increase by roughly 5%–6%; bids are expected back in August. Chairman Billy Fried asked Lueneburg to compare county employee cost sharing with other counties and nearby school districts as part of the procurement work.

Committee members then discussed paid time off (PTO) policies. Fried said policy changes would likely apply to new hires, noting existing large PTO balances are a financial liability. Lueneburg said employees can bank up to 1,000 hours of PTO, and Scott Holewinski cautioned that relatively few employees have such large balances and that forcing use could create hardships for departments. No formal policy change was adopted at the meeting.