By Aimee Hancock
TROY — The Board of Miami County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to approve a new health insurance plan for county employees.
“We are seeing what other public employers are doing in terms of providing high quality health care benefits for their employees and their families,” said Commission President Greg Simmons. “These new options, including allowing spouses to return to our healthcare plan, should make the county a more attractive employer for quality talent.”
The county will now offer three plans, with four enrollment tiers for each plan, through a partnership with County Employee Benefit Consortium of Ohio (CEBCO), thereby ending Miami County’s self-insured status for health insurance.
“Our county employees are our top asset,” said Commissioner Ted Mercer. “Whatever prudent actions we can take to provide quality benefits for our people is something we should consider. This was something that the commission looked at, and it made sense to pursue.”
These new plan will go into effect Jan. 1, 2022, with payroll deductions commencing in December of this year.
Commissioner Wade Westfall said this new health care plan will save taxpayers money while also aiding in the retention of employees.
“Deductibles will go down, premiums will go down and benefits will go up. These new options will cost our employees less and will cost county taxpayers less, in addition to protecting the general fund,” Westfall said. “This is a win-win solution.”
The following was also approved during Tuesday’s meeting:
• Authorization for the county engineer to pursue the completion of the proposed Walnut Street improvement project in the village of Pleasant Hill. Said project is proposed to include, but is not limited to, reconstructing the existing roadway, including curb and gutter, storm sewer, sidewalk, and other associated improvements. The village of Pleasant Hill will submit the project for funding consideration through the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC). The estimated cost for said project is $460,000 with 65% ($300,000) state funding and 35% ($160,000) local funding. The local portion is proposed to be divided between the county and village in proportion to the frontages under the respective jurisdiction of each entity, with the county portion estimated at 6.5% of the total project cost, not to exceed $30,000.
• Authorization for the Law Library to purchase eight Weston Guest chairs from FriendsOffice, of Dayton, for a total not to exceed $3,235.36, including delivery and installation, due to current chairs being in poor condition having originally been purchased in 1950.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners met with Derek Chancellor, southwest regional liaison for Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.
