The finance committee agreed that staff should return in the spring with a detailed comparison of health-plan structure options, including information on the county’s current plan performance and whether a state plan or other alternatives would be cost-effective.

Committee members asked staff to invite Horton (referenced in the discussion) to present possible cost-containment strategies and practical options the county could consider prior to the plan’s renewal window. Staff proposed March or April for the vendor briefing and said the county’s renewal process is typically later in the year, so an earlier spring discussion would allow time to evaluate options ahead of budget finalization.

Members also linked the benefits conversation to recruitment and retention for county positions, noting that reducing benefits or shifting costs to employees could hinder recruiting for hard-to-fill jobs such as jail staffing.

Separately, staff previewed a planned cybersecurity solution — a cloud-based monitoring service that would monitor county computers 24 hours a day and alert staff to suspicious activity or ransomware — and said the proposal would come to the executive committee first and then to finance when prepared. No formal action was taken during the meeting on the cybersecurity proposal or the health-plan briefing schedule.