Auditor presents health-plan and payroll options; BCBS could save about $49,000

Auditor Jana Flaten told the commission that moving county health coverage to Blue Cross Blue Shield would save approximately $49,000 per year, based on the prices she provided; she said the county’s BCBS representative, Margaret, will attend the September meeting to explain plan details. Separately, the board accepted a new insurance policy from Ihry Insurance on a unanimous motion.

Flaten also reviewed a staff payroll survey showing employees were split roughly in half over preferring once-monthly versus twice-monthly pay. She suggested paying hourly employees on a single monthly schedule to avoid paying an overlapping portion of two months in the current cycle. Flaten noted recent legislation (HB 1158) changes withholding obligations — single payments under $44,725 require no withholding — and that a GDP programmer prepared an internal calculation table to automate withholding amounts until the county transitions software.