WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS CREATE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT FOR COUNTY EMPLOYEES
Washington County Commissioners approved the addition of a new employee benefit for county employees at their meeting today (Tuesday).
Commissioners authorized the county to enter into a flexible spending account as a supplemental employee benefit. The account will be administered by the American Family Life Assurance Company (AFLAC).
Kendall Rohde of AFLAC said this account will allow employees to elect funds from their paychecks and contribute them towards an account usable by all county employees for medical expenses. Commissioner Joy Fuchs said, if an employee chooses to have a flexible savings account, they can outline an amount to set aside from their paychecks, pre-tax.
Rohde said, through a “conservative estimate”, he expects the county could save around $20,000 just in employee taxes. Fuchs said the program could be particularly useful for employees with young children who have a lot of medical bills.
County Judge John Durrenberger stressed that this program is not mandatory for employees to take part in.
Rohde plans to meet with employees in the county annex on August 31st to discuss the program and its benefits.
Also in session, commissioners approved an official agreement between the Sheriff’s Office and Trinity Services Group, Inc., for inmate food services at the county jail. The group will begin providing services at the jail on Sunday.
Commissioners also:
- Updated 16 job descriptions for the Road and Bridge Department, as presented by the County Engineer.
- Approved a request from the Washington County Appraisal District to retain excess funds from its 2017-18 budget, to use the funds for 2020 pictometry. The Appraisal District retained $39,275, of which around $11,000 will be used for Washington County entities. The rest will be used for entities such as Brenham and Burton ISD, the Cities of Brenham and Burton, and Blinn College.
- Approved the 2019-20 budget for the Appraisal District. This year’s budget amounts to $910,594, an $80,758 increase over last year’s budget.
- Approved formal notice from PGMS-Central Washington County Water Supply Corporation for a water line extension on Joyce Circle in Precinct Three.
- Approved a right-of-way permit application for the Washington County Fair antique tractor ride.
Just because the Washington County Appraisal District increases their costs by 8.9% doesn’t mean my property taxes have to increase by 8.9%. A barely middle income did not increase by 8.9%. The government creates more inflation than any other industry.
So, let’s get this straight- the Washington County Appraisal District gets to keep $39275 to conduct aerial surveillance so that they can extract every penny out of landowners by increasing appraised values. As well, the budget of the Appraisal District was approved for nearly $ 1 million to extract every penny out of landowners by increasing appraised values. But hey, the tax rate didn’t go up more than a penny, right?
Flexible Spending Accounts have been around since the 70’s. I wouldn’t exactly refer to this as a “New Employee Benefit”. FSA’s have been out there for a while now. I can’t believe that Washington County is just now implementing this for it’s employees.