Self-funded health plan runs $162,000 surplus. County ponders group life and a 2% wage bump as administration weighs turnover.
The Price County Administration Committee walked through a workforce report on August 11 that touched nearly every lever the county pulls: who’s leaving, what it pays to keep people, and where its self-funded health plan stands heading into 2027.
Quick Answer: Price County’s self-funded health plan posted an approximate $162,000 surplus for the first half of 2026, with gross cost per enrolled employee running 5.8% below the prior year. The committee signaled support for a 2% wage-scale assumption in the 2027 budget after a zero in 2026, and asked staff to keep studying a group life insurance product that would cost the county about $982 a year. A benefits fair is set for October 21 before November open enrollment.
Members Joe Baraka, Ola Hodeck, Preston Shireman, Jeff Ulrich and Dennis Warco were present. They approved the June 9 minutes by voice vote.
Which county jobs turned over this summer?
Last updated: September 2026
County Administrator Nick Drier delivered the employee status update. The county hired Madeline Bogard as a behavior health social worker on August 3 and Miranda Jones as an administrative assistant in child support on August 10.
The departure list was longer. Caitlyn Kirchmeyer, a behavior health social worker with just under two years, left June 26. Corporation counsel Megan Norris wrapped up July 9 after just over two years.
Deputy Sheriff Jacob Lex left July 16 after two years of service. Highway operator Zachary Stendell, hired roughly two and a half months ago, ended July 30.
Forester Luke Bedamavic, on the job about three and three-quarter years, had his last day August 6. Parks and forest technician Richard Petrie, a 14-and-a-half-year veteran, will finish December 17, 2026.
Corporation counsel is the hard one to fill
Drier walked the committee through the corporation counsel vacancy, the most sensitive recruitment. A full-time counsel spends 85 to 90 percent of their time on health and human services work, from chapter 51s to foster care to CHIPS, and only 10 to 20 percent on ordinances for the board.
Assistant corporation counsel Bryce Shainborn carries some of the load, but he has conflicts on some health and human services cases. The county has leaned on outside attorneys from Medford and Ashland to fill the gap.
That gets expensive, Drier warned. “If you’ve dealt with health and human services, it’s not a nine-to-five job.” A call at 11 at night can mean a court hearing within 24 hours, he said, and a salaried attorney on call holds real value.
The county’s last counsel, a 17-year veteran, took about a year to replace. Interviews are underway, and Drier said the county has been “doing really well with those applications.”
Why can’t Price County keep its younger workers?
A supervisor on the committee asked whether the county does exit interviews. There’s no formal interview, Drier said, but department heads stay in touch with departing staff.
The answer to turnover, Drier argued, is mostly age, not pay. “We’re seeing 26 and under, it’s really hard to keep them,” he said, because young workers still on a parent’s insurance policy don’t feel the cost of leaving a benefits-heavy job.
“Almost one of the worst things that could have happened for maintaining people” was the federal rule letting kids stay on a parent’s plan to age 26, one member observed.
He added: “They want more flexibility. They want more that gig work.” Employees in their 20s, he said, look at county jobs that call them in at 3 in the morning and ask whether the extra $20 is worth it.
The county has already pushed back. Two extra highway drivers were added so fewer operators work weekends. Plowing beyond the 10-hour day pays a premium, and roughly 20 to 26 weeks of winter carries an extra $1.50 an hour.
Perks program buys loyalty
Drier touted the “lifestyle perks” program, a quarterly reimbursement pool roughly 60 percent of employees use. New hires get $125 a quarter, rising toward $200 for long-timers. County-approved family dinners, a hotel for vacation or a canoe rental are all fair game.
“We didn’t give as much of a raise that year when we implemented it,” he said, “because it’s not a cheap program.” A flat percentage bump disappears from memory; a recurring perk keeps reminding workers they’re appreciated, he argued.
Drier shared a story: a friend who runs a bank in northern Minnesota implemented the program after hearing about it. “Their CEO was worried about $300,” he laughed, “like that’s how these little things make a huge difference.”
One member called it a “very, very nice, unique perk,” adding he’d never seen anything like it across the county’s employers.
How is the self-funded health plan doing?
Drier framed 2027 benefits around a strong 2026 story. The self-funded medical plan ran an approximate $162,000 surplus from January through June, which is why the county can hold premium changes small.
Enrollment averaged 124 employees, with 337 dependents, up 4.5 percent from the prior year. Gross cost per enrolled employee came to roughly $27,519, about 5.8 percent below the year before.
The centerpiece is the near-side walk-up clinic, Tailored Care, where the county pays 100 percent of visits and those visits don’t touch a deductible. Drier said a clinic visit costs three to five times what the same care runs at Tailored, so the clinic is the county’s price valve.
Monthly Tailored claims ran about $15,000 in 2026 versus $9,000 in 2025. Drier said the county believes that extra $5,000 a month is offset by roughly $15,000 in savings.
Care navigation adds another layer. An MRI that might run $3,500 can be had for $650 if a patient is willing to drive to Wausau, and the county reimburses employees 25 percent of the difference, up to $5,000. Drier said the program has already saved almost $100,000 in its first year.
The specific-deductible risk is contained. Through June, only two members sat at more than 50 percent of the aggregate deductible, set at $120,000 for the year. One is a cancer patient projected to generate a significant stop-loss reimbursement, Drier said, though he left the exact figure vague.
That’s a sharp turnaround. Last year five or six people hit the county’s stop loss; this year the figure sits around one and a half, Drier said.
What changes for employees in 2027?
Heading into 2027, the county plans “very few changes.” The employee premium will inch toward the market benchmark, though Drier promised it won’t jump from $150 a month to $600.
The deductible will rise by the federal minimum to keep the plan HSA-eligible, and the county is dropping the free vision checkup as it switches vision and dental providers.
Drier said the county has been “grandfathered” into an Emeritus vision and dental plan for about 10 to 15 years with no rate increases. Employees have pressed for Delta Dental, a Wisconsin brand-name product with in-network coverage locally, and this year Delta quoted slightly less than Emeritus.
Drier flagged one caveat: Delta could be buying employees with a low two-year teaser, then raising rates on year three. “That was one thing we’re still working through,” he said.
The vision-and-dental shift could save an estimated $40,000 to $60,000 in the health plan, though Drier cautioned against quoting that figure too tightly.
Group life insurance gets a look
One new product drew interest: group life insurance. Quoted through broker CNB, the benefit would pay $10,000 per employee and double it on accidental death. The county-wide cost would be $982 a year.
That’s cheap enough to nearly pay for itself. If the county moves its whole voluntary package to CNB, it pockets a one-time credit around $5,000 plus 3 percent ongoing, Drier said.
“$10,000 is great for a family to help with burial,” he said, but he asked staff to price higher increments, noting tax complications once benefits cross $50,000.
A committee member endorsed the idea: “I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have, especially if it’s not going to cost us anything from a budget-period perspective.”
No formal motion was needed. Drier said he’d keep looking into it and bring options back.
Vacation and sick time, briefly
Asked how paid time off works, Drier explained the county separates vacation from sick. New hires get 10 days at 90 days, a fresh dump at the first anniversary, and a 90-day carryover with no banking.
Sick time accrues one day a month, banks up to 640 hours, and pays out at 50 percent above that threshold — a cap that effectively builds an employee’s own short-term disability, he said.
The county also offers four weeks of paid maternity and paternity leave that doesn’t touch sick or vacation time, a big bump for newer employees.
How will wages move in 2027?
The committee weighed a 2 percent wage-scale assumption for the 2027 budget, after a zero last year. The county pays off a market-scale; workers below market get 2.5 percent to catch up, plus the scale bump, while those above get the scale move plus a 1 percent longevity step.
Drier said the executive committee is running about $600,000 to $700,000 over budget, so the numbers aren’t locked. But staff wanted guidance before drafting.
“Last year we did zero percent,” a member noted, warning the county could fall behind neighboring counties. “I think two percent is a good starting point,” he said.
One member stressed not losing sight of workers at the top of the scale: “We want to keep that experience,” he said, especially for mentoring the next generation. The county previously added steps to the top of its old scale.
Should the county rewrite its AI policy?
Drier floated updating the county’s artificial intelligence policy, which he called “very, very old in AI world technology.” The current version, written three or four years ago, simply bars use without explicit permission.
Other counties run six-page AI policies, he said. The goal now is to keep IT and management aware of who uses AI, how, and for what — not to open the gates.
For now the county holds only three corporate AI licenses, roughly $36 a month per person, held by Drier, TJ, and one other. There’s a single paid ChatGPT subscription, and staff are expressly barred from feeding names, Social Security numbers or anything protected into free tools.
Drier showed a genuine “end of life” concern: an AI being trained on retiring IT veteran TJ’s institutional knowledge. “TG has been here 20 plus years. He knows a lot of stuff,” he said, but warned the tool can be pushed to spill passwords if not locked down.
He also cited a live cautionary tale. Washburn County went down in a cyberattack the prior week, with only its dispatch staying up. “It’s not if you’re going to get hacked, it’s just when,” Drier said, crediting the county’s investment in IT.
A member urged reviewing the policy at least annually: “It’s evolving so fast that it’s going to be hard to keep up with it.”
When is the next meeting?
The committee scheduled its next meeting for September 8, 2026.
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FAQ
How much surplus did Price County’s health plan run this year?
The self-funded medical plan posted an approximate $162,000 surplus for January through June 2026, per the meeting.
What will the group life insurance cost the county?
About $982 a year to cover every employee at $10,000 each, doubling on accidental death. Staff will bring back options on higher amounts.
What is the 2027 wage increase assumption?
Staff presented a 2 percent wage-scale assumption for the 2027 budget, a starting point the committee generally supported. Final numbers come from the full board.
When is the employee benefits fair?
October 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., ahead of November open enrollment.
Why is the corporation counsel position hard to fill?
A full-time counsel does mostly health and human services legal work around the clock, and the county is leaning on outside attorneys from Medford and Ashland while it recruits. Filling the slot has historically taken about a year.