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APPROVED 11/18/2008 <br /> MINUTES <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> WORK SESSION <br /> October 14, 2008 <br /> 5:30 p.m. <br /> The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session on Wednesday, <br /> October 14, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. at the Link Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North <br /> Carolina. <br /> COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Moses <br /> Carey, Jr., Valerie P. Foushee, and Mike Nelson <br /> COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Alice M. Gordon <br /> COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geof Gledhill <br /> COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, Assistant County <br /> Manager Gwen Harvey and Willie Best, and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff <br /> members will be identified appropriately below) <br /> NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT <br /> AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. <br /> Commissioner Foushee called the meeting to order and said that Chair Jacobs would <br /> join the meeting within the hour and Commissioner Gordon would join the Board at the 7:30 <br /> p.m. meeting. <br /> 1. 2009 Benefits Recommendation <br /> Laura Blackmon said that this item is to approve the benefits for the calendar year 2009. <br /> Human Resources Director Michael McGinnis apologized to the Board for the inaccurate <br /> information that was provided at the last meeting. There was additional information at the <br /> County Commissioners' places and he made reference to attachment 5B, which lists costs for <br /> the health care plan. <br /> Laura Blackmon said that last week there was information about the dental plan, and <br /> these numbers have been corrected based on information from Delta Dental. The staff is <br /> looking to keep the dental plan the same. <br /> Michael McGinnis said that with the dental plan, they were originally reimbursing on a <br /> table of allowances that had not been updated in years. He said that, regardless of how it is set <br /> up, there will be an amount that will be left over for the employee to pay. The flex spending <br /> account will be promoted this year, which is pre-tax money. <br /> Regarding the Employee Assistance Program, there is a suggested change of three <br /> visits to five visits. This would be an increase in cost of 7 cents per month per employee, which <br /> would bring the overall cost to $1.61 per employee per month. <br /> Commissioner Nelson asked about the healthcare plan and said that Michael McGinnis <br /> had mentioned other options and now the recommendation is to stick with the same plan. He <br /> asked about the reasoning behind this. <br /> Michael McGinnis said that the changes that occurred in the last several years are <br /> minimal and employees are only comfortable with a limited number of changes. He said that he <br /> would use this year to get the employees more involved in how the claims affect the premiums <br /> and then come back next year with more changes. <br />