Agenda - 09-22-2008 - 3 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 Resources staff in mid-September to share the results. County staff will continue to work with Archer to ensure accuracy and address any necessary revisions. The FY 08-09 Budget does not provide funding for recommended implementation. Implementation costs have been estimated for the FY 2009-10 budget of $4,100,000. Benefits The Human Resources Department and other County staff annually review the County employee benefits package and advise the Manager regarding a recommendation to the Board on benefit plans that become effective for the next calendar year. In spring 2008, the North Carolina Employment Security Commission conducted an Employee Satisfaction Survey for Orange County. Approximately 60% of employees responded. The results showed that 83.2% of respondents are satisfied with their benefits: 78.8% are satisfied overall with their health care; 68.6% are satisfied with the dental plan; and 60.2 % are satisfied with the 401(k) contribution. While employees would naturally prefer to keep their benefits the same at the same or no cost, 45.6% indicated they would prefer increases for dependent coverage while keeping employee only costs the same. 34.9% stated they would prefer higher premium costs, including an employee contribution, to keep benefits at the same level and 14.4% stated they would prefer to keep the premiums the same and reduce the benefits level. Attachment 1 summarizes the survey results. Discussions regarding benefits and the Archer Study have been held with the Employee Relations Consortium (ERC), the ERC Pay & Benefits Committee and with department directors. Each group provided input to the Human Resources Department related to compensation and benefits. Staff reviewed the survey conducted by The Archer Company and another local survey and confirmed that generally Orange County benefits are comparable to nearby jurisdictions. This data shows that Orange County health care provides some of the lowest deductibles and co- pays for office visits with the lowest co-pays for prescriptions. Dental coverage is comparable to others but data is limited. Orange County provides the highest number of leave days among surveyed groups. Employees must have more years of service to qualify for longevity payments than most of the surveyed organizations, and the maximum tuition reimbursement amount is below the average. 401(k) contributions are the lowest of all organizations surveyed. Attachment 2 presents a comparison of benefits. Costs associated with the County Health Care plan, currently administered by CIGNA through the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) pool, have consistently increased. Significant premium increases over the last several years have made it difficult for the County to continue coverage at the same plan level and employees face increased costs for dependent coverage. A driving factor in this increase is the County practice to pay. the entire employee premium and a significant amount of dependent care coverage. Currently, the County pays $445.06 (for HMO coverage) or $522.08 (for PPO coverage) each month for Employee Only coverage. Because health insurance is such an essential part of the total compensation package that attracts and retains .employees, input from Commissioners will assist in formulating recommendations for this year's plan as well as establish a direction for the future. Term Life/Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance The County has provided for many years an employer-paid life insurance benefit at the employee's annual salary (rounded to the next thousand dollars) with a maximum benefit of