Ready to discuss going paperless and county employee insurance plans — the Orange County Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Link Government Services Center in Hillsborough.
Commissioners will discuss employee health insurance modifications to be made in the coming year. About 950 county employees receive health care benefits from Orange County, said Nicole Clark, human resources director for Orange County.
The Affordable Care Act has been controversial since it was signed into law in March 2010. But Orange County Benefits Manager Diane Shepherd said there would be little change to Orange County’s insurance policy.
“Not too much is going to change this year, other than the limits on the Flexible Medical Spending Account,” Shepherd said.
The federal health care bill limits contributions to flexible spending accounts to $2,500 per plan per year. The cap is a decrease from the previous $3,000 Orange County limit. In order to comply with the provision, the board will modify the cap on flexible spending account contributions for the 2013 year.
Even though the change is small, commissioners say the importance of health care to county workers will not be understated during the meeting.
“I think that health insurance is always an important issue. It affects all the county employees,” Commissioner Steve Yuhasz said. “The cost of health care is changing and we need to make sure we can provide the best health care moving forward.”
At a a later meeting, commissioners will discuss how the health care law will impact county employees in the long-term.
BOCC saves paper
In an effort to be more accessible and environmentally-friendly, the board will also receive an update on the progress of a paperless agenda initiative.
A paperless agenda, which can be accessed online through Adobe software, would reduce the amount of paper used during meetings as well as provide a more interactive and accessible medium for the public to understand the board’s topics of discussion.
Todd Jones, chief information officer for Orange County, said he hopes the initiative will save the county money on printing and distribution costs. Start-up costs would be a little less than $1,000.
Jones said the new technology has already been utilized by many of the commissioners.
“Since the August meetings, all of the agendas have been published in this new format. We have certain commissioners already using their iPads and other devices to access the report,” Jones said.
Yuhasz said he appreciates the innovative technology and likes that it will provide a bridge between county residents and their elected officials.
“Once that’s published to the web, anyone can see what the commission is discussing,” Yuhasz said. “From a governmental standpoint, I think it is an advantage to the public.”
Commissioners will also discuss a draft of the Orange County Strategic Information Technology Plan.
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