Commissioners discuss $1.3M shortfall
GREENSBURG – The Decatur County Board of Commissioners are considering opting out of insurance coverage for themselves and the Decatur County Council; the idea was discussed at a recent evening meeting of the board held at the Decatur County Courthouse.
Commissioner Jeremy Pasel said Senate Bill 1 will create projected revenue deficits of $517,710 in 2025 to $781,450 in 2028. Because of that shortfall, he said county government is going to have to tighten its belt.
Pasel suggested discontinuing health insurance for county council members as well as the three commissioners, which he said would result in a savings of $106,866. That, he said, would cover roughly 20% of the deficit.
'I don't want to see layoffs,' he said.
Commissioner Brian Wenning added, 'I think our employees are the most valuable asset we have, but I would not recommend cutting any benefits for them.'
Wenning noted there hasn't been a budget session for 2025, which would allow the county leaders to 'look at different things and compare before we made that decision."
Commissioner Gabriel Nobbe indicated he doesn't use the insurance available to the commissioners and suggested waiting to see how things play out before taking action on this concern.
Pasel expounded on an analysis of current economics and asked if anyone else wanted to add to the discussion, and no one did.
No decisions regarding what to do about the projected shortfall were made.
The Board of Commissioners meets on the first and third Mondays of each month in Room 106 of the Decatur County Courthouse unless otherwise posted. All meetings are open to the public.
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