Logan County Board Finance Committee
Special meeting discusses non-union wages, employee insurance and financial struggles with animal control

 

[September 19, 2024] 

On Wednesday, September 18th, a special meeting was held by the Finance Committee of the Logan County Board. The meeting began promptly at 5:45 in the evening in the Blue Room of the Logan County Safety Complex. This meeting was held because the County Board has not yet passed a budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. As stated in previous meetings, the budget is normally finished by August. Also, since the Finance Committee did not meet quorum at their September 11th meeting, they could not vote on anything in regard to the budget.

At this emergency meeting, the committee was just able to make a quorum, with Dale Nelson, Emily Davenport, Joseph Kuhlman, and Bob Sanders in attendance. Committee members Keenan Leesman and JR Glenn were absent. Also in attendance were board members Jim Wessbecher, Julie Bobell, and Gil Turner. These board members are not members of the Finance Committee and did not vote on committee motions.

Nelson kicked off the meeting by letting everyone know that he was going to be working on getting numbers plugged in on Tuesday so the committee will have a full budget by October for a regular board meeting.

The board then began talking about their motion to fully pay for non-union employees’ health insurance. At the regular board meeting in August, one of the reasons this motion was kicked back to committee was because of a concern raised by board member Hannah Fitzpatrick. In the meeting, Fitzpatrick stated that if the Logan County employees were on an insurance plan with their spouse’s place of employment, they may get kicked off that insurance if their spouse’s provider discovers the Logan County employee can get their own insurance plan through their employer. After speaking with their liaison for insurance in the county, Nelson was able to state that this would not occur if the board voted to pay the entire cost of an individual health care plan for their non-union employees.

County Treasurer Penny Thomas shared what she had found from some research she did last year. Thomas reached out to other counties and asked about their insurance plans and how much their employees have to contribute. Non-union employees in Logan County are required to pay $250 each month for the health insurance plan they are provided through the county. Of all the counties Thomas reached out to, she stated she could only find one who required their employees to pay the same amount as Logan County employees. Every other county she reached out to require their employees to pay less.

Several other comments on the insurance plan were made. Thomas shared that she did not like the county agreeing to pay a certain percentage of the insurance, as that is difficult to budget for. Sanders stated that, since union employees are still required to pay a certain, but lesser, amount each month for insurance, the county should agree to pay the entire cost of insurance for both union and non-union employees.

Nelson then stated that, while he is going to propose the motion to pay for 100 percent of the non-union employee’s individual health insurance at the next regular board meeting, he is also going to propose a three percent salary increase for these employees as well. He stated that there may be a special regular board meeting in the first week of October to get this and the budget voted on and passed.

Other topics, such as the Courthouse restoration budget, were discussed, but these discussions were very brief. The final large topic of the night that was discussed was Logan County Animal Control.

Jane Whiteman and Ashley Allen spoke on their frustrations with the current state of animal control in the county. They shared that, with the amounts they have to pay for things like vet bills, they are not making enough money. In many cases, they are spending more money than the current policies allow them to make. Thomas also stated that, recently, money from Logan County’s general fund has had to cover these losses so that animal control can continue to operate. Logan County animal control currently owes $60,000 to the general fund.

Whiteman also shared that some people in the county are taking their animals outside of the zones that they are allowed to charge people within. When this occurs, animal control is still required to come and get the animal, but they cannot charge anyone for the service. Additionally, when animal control does respond to a call within a zone they can charge for, they can only charge a fee for entering the zone to work, not a per animal fee. This being the case, they might haul dozens of animals while only being able to charge a flat $250.

Reclaims are another area where they are losing money. When animal control comes and takes an animal, many times, the owner is allowed to come and reclaim the animal. There is a fee, but that fee does not cover the services they are required to provide for the animal each time, such as vet services.

Nelson asked Whiteman and Allen if they could charge more for these services. Whiteman said that they can do whatever the county wants them to do. The idea of charging for each animal was also brought up, rather than the current flat fee. Nelson asked Whiteman if she could return with a plan to help offset the losses they have been experiencing. Whiteman agreed to do this.

[Matt Boutcher]