At the July meeting of the Cherry County Commissioners, mostly routine matters were handled. However, during the 1pm public comment time, there was considerable discussion regarding the recent change in the county employee insurance coverage. Many county employees have had some difficulty with claims and payments during visits to healthcare providers. The commissioners all agreed that this has been an inconvenience, but asked personnel to be patient in the change-over.
The cost of the change in policy was also discussed. Many in attendance had concerns over a roughly $71,000 early cancellation penalty incurred by the county. Commissioners pointed-out that over the long-term, savings to the tax payer would be considerable. An annual reduction of roughly $55,000 in fixed cost was touted, as well as $26,000 in claims savings so far this year for a one year savings of just over $82,000. With the one-time penalty of $71,000 the savings equal over $10,000 in the first year alone.
After this public comment time, the commissioners met as a board of equalization and spent most of that time hearing from concerned tax payers and property valuation protests.