Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
On Monday, October 5, 2026, at 10:00 AM, the Cleveland County Budget Board convened a special meeting to discuss and act on a resolution setting employee benefits for the 2027 calendar year. After extensive debate, the board approved Resolution 2027 by a 6–2 vote, increasing Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions, Flexible Spending Account (FSA) limits, and the dependent medical supplement.
Resolution Overview: The proposed resolution (supported by Board Member Marilyn Williams and others) would increase the HSA employer contribution from $1,500 to $2,000 per year for employees choosing the high-deductible health plan, and raise the FSA contribution from $500 to $750 for those on the basic plan. It also proposed raising the dependent medical supplement from $3,600 to $4,260 per year (a 19% increase matching the approximate premium increase from Health Choice). These changes were framed as redistributing savings the county realizes when employees choose lower-cost plans, with the goal of helping employees cover out-of-pocket costs and dependent premiums. The total cost is within the $949,000 employee benefits budget.
Alternative Proposal by Jacob McHughes: McHughes argued for a short-term “bridge” approach: instead of increasing HSA/FSA amounts, the county should directly cover the premium increase difference for all employees and dependents. He noted the employee-only premium rose from $707 to $818 per month and estimated the cost of covering the difference across all employees and dependents at about $170,000. He suggested this was a more targeted response to the immediate premium hike and that long-term strategies like self-insurance should be studied later.
Debate on Intent and Impact: Chairman Rod Cleveland and others clarified that the resolution does not address premiums directly; it supplements employee out-of-pocket costs. Cleveland emphasized that the supplement is designed to help employees keep their children insured, not to offset premium changes. Board members raised concerns about complexity: McHughes and Vice-Chairman Douglas Warr questioned whether the alternative proposal would require individualized calculations and whether the board had sufficient information to make a long-term decision. Marilyn Williams countered that the resolution continues a longstanding practice of returning savings to employees and improves retention. The employee benefits committee had previously vetted the numbers, which came from payroll records.
Fiscal Context: The county pays 100% of employee premiums. The premium increases for 2027 are 19% (from $707 to $818 for individuals, and similar increases for dependents). The resolution’s increases to HSA, FSA, and the supplement are drawn from the separate employee benefits budget ($949,000), not from department budgets.
Approval of Resolution 2027 Calendar Year Employee Benefits: The board voted on the resolution as originally proposed. Roll call vote:
The motion carried 6–2. The resolution was adopted.
Next Steps: Board members were directed to sign the resolution. Several members expressed a desire for more regular and in-depth budget board discussions on employee benefits in the future, including better communication between the benefits committee and the full board.
I just don't know. Okay, let's go ahead and uh call me more here. Here. Here. Can't keep here for Weaver. Richards? Here. We have a quarter. Okay. Okay, I don't know. Go ahead. I wanted to throw something off the board. So I've learned a little bit here in the last week or so. I think there's a lot of options in front of the county. I think we've got to work out these things that you're processed. It was hard to do with all of it. What I would suggest is more of a short-term bridge. Um, where we just cover the difference of the premiums. So instead of paying like 707 dollars for an individual employee, it's moving to 818 dollars per employee. Um just pay the difference of 101 dollars on that, and then the difference on employees plus dependence of uh 1,000 seven to 1186, and that way it's just we covers the difference. We're not reading you all inside that. Um I think that if we're increasing the HSA and FSA's it's still not directly addressing the cost of increasing. So uh my suggestion were at least in the short term because of let's just pay the difference in the premium cost about 170,000. That gets us to the next step. I think we have party discussions about the deductibles as well. I think that's something that definitely needs to get looked at. Um I think for our from our standpoint, we're just going from where we were to where we are. Um long-term strategy.