Orange County NC Website
Voluntary Furlough <br /> � Recommend extending the voluntary furlough program that was initially implemented in <br /> FY 2009-10 <br /> � Anticipate cost savings of$30,000 in FY 2014-15 <br /> Retiree Health Benefits <br /> � The County Manager recommends funding $1.8 million for general fund retiree health <br /> benefits <br /> � Retiree health care costs increase is due to the aging of the retiree population and the <br /> increase in health care costs <br /> � Encourage all retirees, especially pre-65 retirees to participate in preventative care, <br /> health assessments and health screenings to reduce claims and to realize better health <br /> among retirees <br /> Commissioner porosin asked if the increase in health premiums will be borne by the <br /> employees or the County. <br /> Brenda Bartholomew said individual County employees will be covered entirely by <br /> County contribution, but the employees will pay 48 percent of the cost for dependents. <br /> Commissioner porosin referred to the proposal to increase the living wage and asked <br /> how this does not affect any County employees. <br /> Brenda Bartholomew said it does not affect permanent employees because they <br /> currently earn $12.76 per hour; however 75 temporary employees will be affected. <br /> Commissioner porosin asked if there are any permanent positions that are paid less <br /> than the $12.76. <br /> Brenda Bartholomew said no. <br /> Commissioner porosin would like to know how much it would cost to make a minimum <br /> wage of$12.76 per hour for all employees. <br /> Michael Talbert said he could get those numbers. He said many of the 75 temporary <br /> employees are seasonal. <br /> Commissioner porosin said it would be useful to know if it is feasible to do this. <br /> Chair Jacobs said he would like to know who these 75 temporary employees are. <br /> Brenda Bartholomew gave him the following list of employment departments and the <br /> number of temporary employees: library (20), parks and recreation (30), Aging Department <br /> (14), and Emergency Services (9). <br /> Chair Jacobs said for future reference he would like to know why these are temporary <br /> employees versus permanent employees. He would also like to see what the housing living <br /> wage was for Orange County. He would like to see the County working toward the minimum <br /> permanent wage, not just the housing and living wage. He said this was done in the past for <br /> the Sheriff's Deputies, since they were required to live in Orange County. He would like to <br /> have a conversation about this in the future. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked if the $1.8 million for general fund retiree health benefits <br /> is for current retirees. <br /> Michael Talbert said this is to fund current benefits for current retirees for next year. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked where the OPEB is within this budget. <br /> Michael Talbert said it would be the unassigned fund balance as of June 20, 2014. . <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked for the estimate of the unassigned fund balances. <br /> Clarence Grier said this number was estimated to be $20.17 with the three years taken <br /> out. He said if you add the three back in it would be close to $38 million. <br />