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10 <br /> 1 $984,561 to conduct a Facilities Condition Assessment, a School Optimization Plan, and develop <br /> 2 Benchmarking Best Practices for all public schools in Orange County including a study of <br /> 3 educational adequacy of school facilities; authorize the County Manager to execute the Contract <br /> 4 (Attachment 2), subject to final review by the County Attorney, and any subsequent amendments <br /> 5 for contingent and unforeseen requirements up to the approved budget amount on behalf of the <br /> 6 Board; and approve Budget Amendment#7-A as detailed above. <br /> 7 <br /> 8 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how they will know what is included in basic services. <br /> 9 John Roberts said it will be added in the county's contract. <br /> 10 Steve Arndt said the deliverables are also included in the RFQ and in the proposal that <br /> 11 was responsive to the RFQ so the contract services are very specific. <br /> 12 <br /> 13 VOTE: Ayes (Chair Bedford, Commissioner Fowler, Commissioner Greene, Commissioner <br /> 14 Hamilton) <br /> 15 Nays (Commissioner Richards and Commissioner Portie-Ascott) <br /> 16 <br /> 17 MOTION PASSES <br /> 18 <br /> 19 b. Recommendations for Employee Health Insurance and Other Benefits <br /> 20 The Board approved the Manager's recommendations regarding employee health and dental <br /> 21 insurance effective July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. <br /> 22 <br /> 23 BACKGROUND: The County provides employees with a comprehensive benefits plan that <br /> 24 includes participation in robust health and dental insurance plans for employees and their families. <br /> 25 Each year, the Board of Commissioners is asked to review and approve health and dental <br /> 26 insurance rates in advance of the annual budget so that open enrollment can be completed prior <br /> 27 to the beginning of the plan year which starts on July 1. <br /> 28 <br /> 29 Health Insurance <br /> 30 The Board of County Commissioners approved Orange County's participation in the North <br /> 31 Carolina Health Insurance Pool in FY 2018-19. From that time until FY 2022-23, neither health <br /> 32 nor dental insurance costs increased due to stable claims experience. In FY 2022-23, the health <br /> 33 insurance plan experienced an increase in the overall number of claims and higher costs per <br /> 34 claim incurred than prior years, which resulted in a drawdown of reserves. As a result, the Board <br /> 35 approved an increase of 5% to the health insurance plan for both active employees and pre-65 <br /> 36 retirees. That increase was fully paid by the County and not passed on to employees. <br /> 37 <br /> 38 Funding for the health plan is based on estimated premium equivalents rates that are necessary <br /> 39 to pay for incurred claims, administrative and reinsurance costs, and the expected liability of <br /> 40 claims incurred but not reported (IBNR). The plan also carries a reserve balance which ensures <br /> 41 the County's ability to pay claims. The reserve policy ranges between 1.5 and 3.0 over IBNR to <br /> 42 ensure the ability to pay for future claims based on current claims experience which currently are <br /> 43 higher than expected. The County's current reserve ratio is 1.1 through January 2023. In FY <br /> 44 2023-24 and beyond, that reserve amount is recommended to be two(2)times the expected IBNR <br /> 45 liability. <br /> 46 <br /> 47 Although the plan is projected to have a positive year-end balance of$833,090, additional funding <br /> 48 is necessary to cover projected total plan costs for FY 2023-24 and to continue to build reserve <br /> 49 levels for future sustainability of rates. The actuarial analysis conducted by the North Carolina <br /> 50 Health Insurance Pool is recommending an increase of five percent (5%). <br /> 51 <br />