Skip to main content
(912) 261-7100    |   Contact Us

Human Resources Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Written by Janice Meridith on . Posted in Human Resources & Safety Committee Minutes.

For your consideration, please read the minutes from the Human Resources Committee Meeting held on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. in the Commission Meeting Room.

Human Resources Meeting Minutes 11-13-19 with Attachments

To read the minutes, please open or download the pdf from the link above, or you may see more below.

Brunswick-Glynn County Joint Water & Sewer Commission

1703 Gloucester Street, Brunswick, GA 31520

Commission Meeting Room

Wednesday, November 13, 2019 at 10:30 AM 

HUMAN RESOURCES & SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES

PRESENT:                           

Donald Elliott, Committee Chairman

Cornell Harvey, Commissioner                                           

Wayne Neal, Commissioner

Andrew Burroughs, Executive Director

ALSO PRESENT:               

Catina Tindall, First Coast Benefits Solutions, Inc.

Daphne Gable, Teamwork Services Inc.

Kelly Vest, Teamwork Services Inc.

Janice Meridith, Exec. Commission Administrator

MEDIA:                                

Taylor Cooper, The Brunswick News

Chairman Elliott called the meeting to order at 10:30 AM.

 PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

There being no citizens that wished to address the Committee, Chairman Elliott closed the Public Comment Period.

 APPROVAL

  1. Minutes from August 21, 2019 Human Resources Committee Meeting

Commissioner Harvey made a motion seconded by Commissioner Neal to approve the minutes from the August 21, 2019 Human Resources Committee Meeting.  Motion carried 3-0-0.

2. Minutes from August 21, 2019 Human Resources Committee Executive Session

Commissioner Neal made a motion seconded by Commissioner Harvey to approve the minutes from the August 21, 2019 Human Resources Committee Meeting.  Motion carried 3-0-0. 

DISCUSSION

  1. Staff Recommendations on Changes to Health Care Plans – C. Tindall

Catina Tindall provided that this was a preliminary meeting to discuss the upcoming March renewal of health benefits for JWSC.  There are no documents prepared as of yet with proposed policies or quotes from carriers.  The renewal information will be received by January 1st.  Ms. Tindall indicated that there are 3 health plans offered at this time for JWSC, for which the out-of-pocket amounts increased as well as the deductibles in order to bring the rates down overall.  There are a total of 124 JWSC staff enrolled in the current health plans. There are 16 employees enrolled in the $1,500 deductible plan, 101 employees enrolled in the $3,500 deductible plan, and 7 enrolled in the Health Savings Accounts plan with the $5,000 deductible.

Commissioner Elliott requested that for the next Human Resources Committee meeting, Ms. Tindall provide additional information regarding:

  • Claims vs. Paid for this current year (how much they paid out on claims) which is only generally broken down, and not in detail.
  • A listing of the lower cost pharmacies and offers to the employees regarding cost of maintenance medicines for comparison. (i.e. in comparison to mail-order pharmacies)
  • A breakdown of where the money is being spent by JWSC on the insurance benefits.
  • To contact the insurance company and find out now what the plan options are and what will be looked at for renewal options as well as request the claims history broken down as far as they can in detail, and provide a written response from the insurance company stating that they cannot provide this information.
  1. Staff Recommendations on Retirement Plan Changes – A. Burroughs

Mr. Burroughs provided that JWSC’s retirement plan is a defined benefit plan where employees do not currently pay anything into that pension fund, and employees currently start being vested at 3 years and are fully vested at 5 years.  He provided that the city has a defined contribution plan where the employees pay 3%, and the county has a defined benefit plan where their employees do not pay anything into that funding.  The county is currently looking at their pension plan and considering changing it. Mr. Burroughs provided three scenarios for the committee to review regarding comparisons of the projected employer contribution rate with of the pension plan remaining as it is and also making changes where the employees contribute to the plan with varying vesting times.  

  1. Salary Survey Update With Addition of Local Surrounding Communities – A. Burroughs

Mr. Burroughs provided a salary survey comparing the JWSC senior staff and superintendents’ salaries to those of regional water and sewer utilities.  He requested salary information from three different groups of water and sewer utilities: similarly sized utilities in Georgia (excluding the Atlanta area), similarly sized utilities in northern Florida, and utilities of any size in Coastal Georgia.  A chart was provided indicating the minimum and maximum salaries from the study with those of JWSC.

With no further business to discuss, Committee Chairman Elliott adjourned the meeting at

11:19 a.m.