Jefferson County Health Department officials previously expected to see an increase of more than 30 percent in health insurance premiums this year.
But when the Board of Trustees approved a budget for the 2026 fiscal year last month, the increase for health insurance costs was less than 5 percent.
A preliminary budget approved in Oct. 23 included the 30 percent increase, but comptroller Kristin Firle said she hoped to get the premium increase down to 11 percent.
“Our brokers did a really good job,” Firle told the Board of Trustees on Dec. 29. “Instead of the 32 percent increase, they got us an under 5 percent increase. That was about $240,000 in savings.”
The preliminary budget for health insurance for 2026 was $925,858; the final budget calls for $687,823 in health insurance costs.
Executive Director Steve Sikes said the department opted to switch from UnitedHealthcare to Medica for employees’ health, dental, vision and life insurance, which helped bring that cost down.
Firle said the department had been with UnitedHealthcare for three or four years.
The health insurance change was part of the final budget the Health Department board approved by a 4-0 vote on Dec. 29.
Board member Dennis Diehl was absent.
For 2026, the department anticipates spending a total of $8,937,984 and bringing in the same amount of revenue.
About $5.9 million is set aside in the budget for wages and benefits, compared to just under $5.8 million last year.
The budget includes up to $183,920 for employee performance raises based on employee evaluations that were completed in December, said Brianne Zwiener, Health Department communications manager.
She said 54 of the department’s 63 employees received raises that became effective Jan. 1.
Firle said the department is saving about $310,000 by keeping six positions vacant for the first quarter of this year, adding that officials plan to reevaluate filling the positions during the first quarter.
Zwiener said those six positions include human resources specialist, accountant, environmental public health specialist I, office support assistant, public health nurse III and a part-time public health nurse III.
Also during the Dec. 29 meeting, the board voted 4-0 to approve the Health Department Personnel Committee’s recommendation to raise Sikes’ salary by about 4.9 percent, from $130,055 to $136,420.
Sikes had been deputy director of agency operations before being promoted to interim director on Feb. 27, 2024, following Kelly Vollmar’s resignation. He was officially hired as executive director on Nov. 25, 2024.
Employee salaries and benefits continue to be the largest expense for the department. The second largest expense is the annual payment for the new Hillsboro office building at a cost of $748,388.67
The new facility at 1515 Peach Tree Plaza Court opened on July 10 after a year and a half of construction. Zwiener said the project was completed under the $9.7 million budget.
“Although construction is completed, we are currently under budget and looking into a few projects not included in the original design, including artwork and an additional sidewalk,” she said.
The former office on Main Street in Hillsboro is unoccupied.
“We are working with the Board Building Committee to determine a final decision, but most likely we will be selling the old Hillsboro building in 2026,” Zwiener said.
She said 2025 brought challenges but was a year of growth for the department.
“We moved into our new building and made real progress on our strategic priorities,” she said.
The new budget also calls for the Health Department to spend $39,000 for improvements at the Arnold office.
Zwiener said $30,000 will be used to upgrade the burglar/fire alarm and $9,000 is planned to restripe and fill in cracks in the parking lot.