McDonough County employees will see a hike in dependent insurance premiums but some will get a new break. The county board’s finance committee voted Wednesday to recommend allowing any dependents between the ages of 23 to 26 to stay in the plan until a new state law raising the maximum dependent age to 26 takes effect July 1.

That recommendation will go to the full McDonough County Board for action next week, along with a recommendation to raise monthly dependent premiums along with the amount the county pays to insure each employee.  An employee with one dependent will pay $329 per month, and those with more than one dependent will pay $411.

Insurance representative Keith Krohe said the increase would be $10 to $15 per month. The county will pay ten per cent more each month for its employees, $578. The county board will also be asked to renew its contract with the insurance carrier Symmetra.

Several carriers would not even bid on the county contract because 2007 was the county’s highest claim year since it adopted self-insurance, according to Krohe. He said the county had 7,655 claims processed last year, compared to 6,859 so far this year.

Committee chair Alice Henry said the 2009 county budget would go on display at the end of the month in the county clerk’s office, 15 days before the board will vote on it in November. The board will be asked this month to authorize a transfer of funds in the current budget to pay back interfund borrowing from the county environmental fund and the public safety sales tax account.
County Clerk Gretchen DeJaynes informed the finance committee that she will combine two part-time positions in her office into one fulltime job. She said she feels the added cost of benefits is justified in terms of efficiency and consistency.  DeJaynes said the gaps between some part-time work periods has resulted in the need for retraining, taking away from potential productivity.

The finance committee also met Jake Holmes, computer network administrator for the county and for the city of Macomb. He said he has inventoried all computers in the McDonough County Courthouse and in Macomb City Hall, and is looking into possible corporate software discounts that might be available.

Holmes said he is currently spending the bulk of his time working with the computers in the county’s voter registration office. He said those computers need to be up to the task of handling all necessary work through the November election.