County commission faces insurance cost increase

Employee health insurance costs could rise as much as 18 percent for Cape Girardeau County in 2007, an increase that far outstrips the projected rate of increase in tax revenue.

Commissioners opened bids from five insurance companies Thursday as they also began reviewing spending requests from county departments and agencies supported with county funds.

Anthem Blue Cross-Blue Shield, the county's current insurer, is asking for $441 per month for each employee to continue the current plan for the county's approximately 170 workers, up from $373 per employee this year. The county covers the full cost of insurance for employees, who may also elected to pay for family coverage.

Five proposals

Five bidders submitted proposals, with each offering pricing options. If commissioners accept the Anthem bid, total costs for health insurance would rise by about $230,000.

The multiple packages will give commissioners a chance to tailor the insurance purchase to their means. But that could mean more out-of-pocket costs for employees.

"As we all know, things aren't getting any cheaper," Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said. "There has got to be a time when we have to cap our benefits or cap how much we pay."

County Clerk Rodney Miller will scrutinize the various bids and recommend a plan to commissioners. After the bids were opened, he huddled with representatives of the various companies to start that process.

The county anticipates that general revenue will increase by about 3.5 percent in 2007, Auditor David Ludwig said. The 2006 general budget is based on $11.9 million in revenue.

And the departmental budgets Ludwig and commissioners are reviewing include an average payroll increase of 3.5 percent for salaries, he said.

The biggest item reviewed Thursday morning is a request from the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority for a five-fold increase in county support. The authority is asking commissioners to provide $100,000 in 2007, up from $20,000 this year.

As they made their initial review of the request, however, commissioners tentatively decided to keep the subsidy at $20,000. They will set a time for authority executive director Jeff Brune to make his request in person, they said. "If it is possible, we might do more than that," Jones said.

The authority expanded its operations in 2006, taking over taxi service in Cape Girardeau and launching a scheduled bus route connecting downtown with shopping, medical facilities and groceries on the west side of town. Commissioners guaranteed a $660,000 start-up loan and line of credit to help cover the costs that included $300,000 to Kelley Transportation Co. Inc.

In a letter to addressed to Ludwig, Brune said an increase in county funds would help retire the loan, pay for bus stop shelters and give the authority the financial strength to consider a second bus route, provide employee benefits and make other improvements.

Commissioners on Thursday approved a spending plan proposed by the Senior Citizens Service Fund Board that provides a $40,000 increase in funding for the transit authority. That assistance, $95,000 total, is earmarked for improved services to people over 65 and rate cuts for their transportation.

The authority also plans to ask for help from the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson, authority board chairman Doug Richards said. "One of the problems we are having right now is accommodating all the actual needs of our ridership and to do it at a very reasonable rate," he said.

Commissioners did not address the budget for roads and bridges, an area of the budget that will include revenue from a new half-cent sales tax. The tax, which takes effect Jan. 1, is expected to provide more than $6 million annually, but only about $4.1 million in the first year.

The county sheriff's department will also be helped by the tax, with raises to make deputies's pay comparable to Cape Girardeau police. Commissioners set a meeting at 10:30 a.m. Monday to talk with Sheriff John Jordan about the timing of the raises.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126