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9. Items for Decision--Regular Agenda a. Employee Health Insurance for 2006 The Board considered renewal of employee health insurance plans through the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) Health Insurance Trust effective January 1, 2006 and authorizing a transfer of $19,212 from fund balance to the employee health insurance account to supplement the 2005-06 health insurance budget. John Link said that Personnel Director Elaine Holmes will be retiring March 1, 2006 and this is about the 15th time she has gone through this process of examining health insurance. This year, the Board wanted the staff to be especially diligent and to look at causes for increases. He pointed out that this is one of the processes where Elaine Holmes does not receive a lot of recognition. Elaine Holmes said that this has been a difficult process. The purpose of this agenda item is to talk about renewal for calendar year 2006. The County has two plans -Blue Cross Blue Care, which is an HMO (742 employees) and Blue Options, which is a PPO (42 employees). Both of them are insured through the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners Health Insurance Trust. They had budgeted for up to a 15.9% increase this year, but the actual renewal quote they received was fora 22.3% increase. The principal factor is the increase in claims costs. Also, the utilization of outpatient surgeries and prescription drugs has increased. After receiving the quote of the increase, the staff looked at options of how to address the costs. Attachment 2 outlines five options to reduce the cost for health insurance. The staff is recommending pursuing option 5, which would add a $250 per member deductible to the Blue Care plan and would make no change in benefits for Blue Options. The deductible would apply to hospital inpatient and hospital outpatient services and would not apply to doctor visits or prescription drugs. With the addition of the deductible, the overall cost increase came in at 16.5%. The option requires about $19,000 over the amount budgeted, and they are recommending that it be funded from fund balance. The County Commissioners thanked Elaine Holmes for bringing the different options. Commissioner Jacobs said that the number of employees enrolled is fewer than the number of total employees. Elaine Holmes said that they do have vacant positions and there are some health insurance waivers if they are enrolled in other health plans. Commissioner Jacobs asked some clarifying questions that were answered by Elaine Holmes. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to approve the renewal of employee health insurance plans through the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) Health Insurance Trust effective January 1, 2006 and authorize a transfer of $19,212 from fund balance to the employee health insurance account to supplement the 2005-06 health insurance budget. VOTE: UNANIMOUS b. Due Diligence Updates on Planned SportsPlex Acquisition The Board reviewed progress related to several aspects of the planned acquisition of the Triangle SportsPlex property. John Link said that they have good news on the financial status of the Sportsplex operation and a good report from Corley Redfoot Zack. Rod Visser said that they are bringing forward issues related to the auditing of the financial records of the facility. Robin McDuffie from Blackman and Sloop was present to answer questions and provide details. The bottom line is that the financial reporting has been correct in terms of the cash position. Also, Corley Redfoot and Zack have been back through