By Tom Gilchrist
Staff Writer
CARO — Tuscola County’s five commissioners plan to ask a lawyer if the county is required to reinstate health insurance for them under the federal Affordable Care Act, though some county residents voiced concerns about that possibility on Thursday.
Wisner Township’s Lisa Valentine, one of about 28 people in the audience at a county Board of Commissioners meeting, called the commissioners “part-time elected officials.” Valentine warned that using county money to buy them health insurance “would also be a Pandora’s box for the Road Commission and other part-time commissions to accept and demand the same benefits, so I hope you will continue to be the fiscally conservative leaders that I’ve known you to be in the past and not increase your salary and benefits in that way.”
County commissioners haven’t received county-paid health insurance since commissioners imposed a cost-cutting moratorium on providing it to themselves about four years ago. In return for not receiving health insurance, the county pays each commissioner an annual $2,000 stipend. “That’s what all employees in the county who don’t accept insurance receive,” said Commissioner Matthew Bierlein.
Commissioners also receive an annual salary of $6,900, an amount that hasn’t increased since 1981, according to commissioners.
If the county resumes buying health insurance, it would cost about $14,000 annually for each commissioner accepting the insurance, according to Bierlein.
“My concern in this job is the caliber of people that we are drawing to the county commissioner role to manage a $50 million budget at $6,900 a year salary,” Commissioner Craig Kirkpatrick said. “There does not seem to be an incentive for people to participate in county government. We are almost all unopposed in this (November) election.”
Valentine said a wage increase “is probably due,” but added that “I understand that this (health insurance) would nearly triple the salary and benefits — I know what insurance costs; we provide it for our small business and I work six days a week in order to be able to afford to have insurance through my business, but that’s full-time employment not part-time employment.”
Valentine added that “I don’t think the Affordable Care Act — from what I understand of it, from talking to our insurance providers — requires you to provide that benefit to part-time employees.”
Commissioner Thom Bardwell, chairman of the county board, said that “under the Affordable Care Act now, full-time is 30 hours a week.” If commissioners don’t reinstate health insurance, they could keep the issue alive while quantifying their hours as measured during a three-month period or over one year, according to Bardwell.
Commissioner Bierlein told the Advertiser that “There is an impression from some members of the board that (providing health insurance) is required, and there are some of us that would just like to see that in writing, because the Affordable Care Act is pretty hard to understand and we just want to see it from the lawyer.”
When asked if commissioners are pushing to get themselves health insurance, Bierlein said “I don’t know. I have health insurance through my wife’s work. I’m not looking for it, but we want to make sure that we’re in compliance with all laws.”
Tuscola Township resident Lou Smallwood, who told commissioners he’s running for the Vassar Public Schools Board of Education, praised county commissioners as experienced leaders in challenging times.
“Keeping that in mind, however, challenging times means tight budgetary and monetary times, and I think that we should continue to think about our decisions and how they’re going to impact the community as a whole,” Smallwood said. “There’s not a lot of money out there and we continue — in all branches of government — to suffer from budget problems, and I think increasing costs at this time would be a mistake as it comes to the subject of the health insurance issue.”
Commissioners thanked Smallwood for his opinion, though Commissioner Roger Allen offered advice.
“Maybe you should set yourself on fire instead of running for school board. They feel the same,” Allen said, drawing laughter from the audience.
Tuscola County has communicated with other counties about how to handle the question of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Some county commissioners say they work 40 to 60 hours per week, according to Bardwell.
“I believe that,” Bardwell said. “When it rains, it pours, and it depends on what you’re into and what the problems are.”
Commissioners decreased the number of commissioners from seven to five a number of years ago, which expanded responsibilities for each commissioner, according to Bardwell.
“There are many townships (where elected officials) are paid one-third more, or more (than county commissioners) for their service to their communities, with far less involvement than what we have,” Bardwell said.