Minutes 03-01-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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OCS Chief Operating Officer George McFarley said that the student rates from the SAPFO for single-family dwellings versus multi-family dwellings have almost flip-flopped. There are more children out of apartment complexes than there were previously. He said that they are considering an elementary school in the vicinity of Gravelly Hill Middle School. A lot of the children from apartment complexes are coming from Ashbury in Mebane. Donna Coffey said that the OCS Board knows this is an aggressive timeline of only two years out, but they wanted to get this on the radar. Commissioner Foushee said that all of this suggests that Orange County needs to invite Mebane to be a part of the SAPFO agreement. Commissioner Jacobs said that there was a meeting with the Mayor of Mebane and the Chair and Vice-Chair awhile back (maybe when Commissioner Foushee was Vice-Chair). There was discussion about the SAPFO and the need to bring Mebane in. He said that it is important to proceed with joint planning with Mebane, but not just for SAPFO. Chair Pelissier said that she and Donna Coffey may want to sit down with the City of Mebane and discuss this issue. Commissioner Jacobs suggested revisiting the projection of the multi-family housing student generation. 2. Retiree Health Insurance Overview Frank Clifton said that the staff is not proposing that the Board of County Commissioners do anything at any specific time but this will affect the County's borrowing capacity. He said that they are going to plan to set aside some funds for a reserve fund. He said that the County spends about$1 million each year to fund retirees' health insurance. Interim Human Resources Director Katherine Cathey went through the information in the abstract. BACKGROUND: The current Personnel Ordinance (Article IV, Section 28-36) requires the County to provide health insurance, up to the same cost as active employees, for retirees who have at least ten years of Orange County service upon retirement. Additionally, employees who retire at age 65 or older and employees who retire due to disability with more than five years, but less than ten years of Orange County service, are eligible for the 50% of this benefit. Health coverage is provided differently depending on the age of the retiree. Retirees who have not yet reached age 65 remain on the County's group health insurance and are eligible for the dependent subsidy. In 2008, Commissioners approved a revision to the Personnel Ordinance to stop subsidizing the cost of retiree dependent health care for employees hired after July 1, 2008. This has not had any noticeable impact on recruitment or on costs to date. At age 65, retirees enroll in Medicare Part A (no cost to the retiree or County) and part B (premium is deducted from the retiree's Social Security benefit), and the County pays for both a Medicare supplement (Plan F) and Part D. Plan F is referred to as a "Medigap" plan because it covers the gaps left by Medicare Parts A and B. Part D is prescription drug coverage. The County has an arrangement with Blue Cross/Blue Shield of NC (BCBSNC) whereby retirees enroll in the BCBSNC Plan F and Part D, and the County receives and pays one bill for all enrolled post-65 retirees. This reduces the administrative burden on the County but increases the financial burden because there are lower cost providers for Medicare supplements and Part D. While every Plan F includes the same benefits, Part D plans vary from provider to provider. Like every Part D plan, the BCBSNC Part D plan does not cover every medication prescribed for all retirees.