Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
6 <br /> 1 • Community Relations <br /> 2 • Finance and Administrative Services <br /> 3 • Human Resources, including Employee Pay and Benefits <br /> 4 ➢ Employee Pay and Benefits - staff has provided information relating to FY 2021-22 <br /> 5 employee pay and benefits in Appendix A of the Manager's Recommended Budget. <br /> 6 The information provided includes background information on employee pay and <br /> 7 benefits over recent years and information on specific pay and benefits plan <br /> 8 elements. Key components of the recommended employee pay and benefits plan <br /> 9 include: <br /> 10 o No wage increase for FY 2021-22. <br /> 11 o Resumption of the Merit Pay Program on employees' base salaries at the dollar <br /> 12 values in effect in FY 2019-20. Merit Pay increases, if any, will be applied to <br /> 13 employees' base salaries on the first full pay period in January 2022. <br /> 14 o Continue the $27.50 per pay period County contribution to non-law enforcement <br /> 15 employees' supplemental retirement accounts and the County matching <br /> 16 employees' contributions up to $63.00 semi-monthly (for a maximum annual <br /> 17 County contribution of$1,512) for all general (non-sworn law enforcement officer) <br /> 18 employees; continue the mandated Law Enforcement Officer contribution of 5.0% <br /> 19 of salary, and continue the County's required contribution to the Local <br /> 20 Governmental Employees' Retirement System (LGERS) for all permanent <br /> 21 employees. For FY 2021-22, the Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) rate <br /> 22 increases from 10.90 to 12.10 percent of reported compensation, and all other <br /> 23 employees rate increases from 10.15 to 11.35 percent of reported compensation. <br /> 24 o Continue to participate in the North Carolina Health Insurance Pool (NCHIP), and <br /> 25 continue medical and prescription third party administrators with Blue Cross Blue <br /> 26 Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) and Prime Therapeutics, a division of <br /> 27 BCBSNC, respectively. No increase to health and dental appropriations. No <br /> 28 increase to employee premium equivalent for health, dental, or vision insurance. <br /> 29 No increase for health coverage premium equivalent for pre-65 retirees enrolled <br /> 30 in the County's group plans, and no increase for post-65 (Medicare eligible) <br /> 31 retirees. <br /> 32 o Increase the Living wage to $15.40 per hour for all permanent and temporary <br /> 33 employees, effective October 1, 2021. <br /> 34 o Continue the additional eight hours of annual leave to be awarded at an <br /> 35 employee's anniversary date, prorated for part time employees. <br /> 36 o Continue the six-week paid parental leave policy. <br /> 37 Information Technologies <br /> 38 <br /> 39 County Manager Bonnie Hammersley said the theme of the FY21-22 budget is social <br /> 40 safety net for the most vulnerable residents. She said there are 26 departments, and the <br /> 41 budget prioritizes the most vulnerable. She said residents still expect all services regardless, <br /> 42 and this budget continues those services at the same, or minimally reduced, levels. She said <br /> 43 there have not been many requests for additional resources, and it is important to recognize <br /> 44 that there are limited resources. She said staff aims to serve the residents to the best of their <br /> 45 ability. She said long-range financial plan requests are tracked and prioritized, and requests will <br /> 46 be in future budgets. She thanked the BOCC for its support. <br /> 47 Travis Myren reviewed changes to the recommended budget document, which are <br /> 48 intended to be a quick reference guide for readers. <br /> 49 <br /> 50 Travis Myren made the following PowerPoint presentation: <br /> 51 <br />