At District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks’ behest, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors will revisit its previous decision to remove retirees from the county insurance policy at the end of 2015.
Brooks added his crisis of conscience to an otherwise light agenda during the board’s meeting Tuesday morning in Lowndes County Courthouse. He voted, along with Board President Harry Sanders and District 2’s Bill Brigham, in a 3-2 decision on Dec. 1 to remove retirees, while supervisors John Holliman and Jeff Smith, of District 3 and 4, opposed.
Brooks, however, led an effort Tuesday to rescind those board orders, and the supervisors unanimously supported his about-face. Now, the four-member insurance committee — comprised of Sanders, Brigham, Brooks and County Administrator Ralph Billingsley — must discuss an alternative and report its findings at the Feb. 13 board meeting.
“I don’t feel good about having voted to take (retirees) off in a year because there are so many unanswered questions,” Brooks said. “It’s something that’s been bothering me. It’s a personal thing.”
Lowndes County pays about $1.8 million in employee health insurance premiums annually, Billingsley said, including premiums for 10 retirees. Dropping retiree coverage altogether in 2016 would save the county about $150,000 annually.
Sanders said the move would also save 25 active employees who purchase dependant coverage through the county plan. At current rates, employees pay a $452 monthly premium for dependent coverage with a $2,500 deductible and $527 per month for dependent coverage with a $100 deductible.
While Brooks wanted to revert the county policy to both keeping the 10 retirees on the county insurance in perpetuity and allowing future retirees to also remain on the insurance, discussion on Tuesday quickly turned to grandfathering in coverage for existing retirees on the plan — at least until they reach age 65 and qualify for Medicare.
Sanders said he supports revisiting the issue as long as the county didn’t obligate itself long-term to paying insurance premiums for an increasing number of retirees.
“I don’t have a problem with that,” Sanders said. “But at some point, they need to be taken off. My problem is with adding new retirees.”
To retire through Mississippi’s Public Employees Retirement System, employees hired after July 1, 2011 must work at least 30 years in the public sector to retire early, or they must have at least eight years vested to retire at 60. For hires made before July 1, 2011 PERS only requires 25 years for early retirement, and Billingsley said all 10 Lowndes County retirees now on county insurance fit that criteria. Some of those 10, he said, retired as young as in their 40s, meaning they could possibly remain on the county insurance for 15-20 years before qualifying for Medicare.
Smith suggested the county consider continuing to allow anyone hired before Jan. 1, 2015, to remain on the county insurance after they retire. That way, employees close to retirement would still receive a benefit they had come to expect.
“The reality is we’ve got a lot of people working for the county who are around retirement age and are looking for to having the opportunity (to remain on the county insurance),” he said.
Brooks said he was pleased with the board’s discussion on Tuesday and looked forward to working with the insurance committee to find a better solution.
“I have no problem going back and revisiting retirees coming off the insurance at a certain age,” Brooks said. “I’ve always kind of been an advocate for the working man and our employees. I’ve been conflicted about my (Dec. 1) vote. Now, I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
In other business, the board:
■ approved water utility permits for Redbud and Pickensville roads;
■ closed 110 feet of unused road on Bentley Lane and remanded ownership and upkeep to two residential property owners connected to that portion;
■ appointed Brooks, Smith and County Engineer Robert Calvert to a committee to form a roadwork schedule for Artesia Road; and
■ discussed the possibility of offering county employees CPR training.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.