County Commissioners make decisions concerning health insurance, needle exchanges and system upgrades

         (DLC MEDIA) The Daviess County Commissioners tackled the difficult issue of renewing health insurance for county employees today.

      After a lengthy presentation and discussion with insurance representative Paul Williams, the commissioners voted to move forward with a plan that will cost $366,000 with a $200,000 Laser.

        Commissioner Michael Taylor says insurance is not something he enjoys dealing with as a commissioner but he does not take it lightly…

        Also the commissioners voted to increase the deductible for employees to $1000 across the board.  That will replace a $500 deductible put in place last year if employees exclusively used Daviess Community Hospital.  The $1000 will allow people to go to a doctor or hospital of their choosing.   The commissioners felt the change would decrease any confusion or inconvenience.

SYSTEM UPGRADES

         Upgrades to security and voting systems were a part of today’s County Commissioners meeting at the Daviess County Courthouse.

        After a presentation from Sheriff Jerry Harbstreit, the commissioners voted for him to move forward with working on quotes for a new camera recording system for the jail which has become outdated.  The sheriff is looking at using a new vendor with better costs and service.

        Also the commissioners heard from a representative from Micro-Vote, the company which has handled the county’s voting machines for over 30 years. The Commissioners agreed to move forward with a plan to upgrade the system.  The current system uses Windows XP which is an operating system no longer supported by Microsoft.  Also a new system would  support the use of voting centers if they’re ever used in Daviess County.   If the plan moves forward a new system would likely not be in place until the 2018 General Election.

NEEDLES

        The Daviess County Commissioners today made a final decision on an issue they’ve tabled for a few weeks.

        Modeling their resolution after the city of Washington’s, the commissioners passed a resolution stating they would not condone or be in favor of a needle exchange program in Daviess County.  The commissioners, like the city added the words “at this time” in the event that a future emergency health crises like an HIV or hepatitis break out would warrant a needle exchange.  Currently 8 counties have programs to deter the spread of disease spurred by use of dirty syringes among intravenous drug users.

        Daviess County Prosecutor Dan Murie was happy with the commissioners’ decision today..

        The Washington City Council, County Council, outlying town boards and now the commissioners have all passed resolutions against establishing a program under current circumstances.