Franklin BOC to Discuss Jail Expansion, Health Insurance Tonight

The proposed jail expansion and whether county commissioners should be offered health insurance are two of the topics for discussion at tonight’s Franklin County Commission work session.

After considering a number of funding options, the Board of Commissioners voted in May to table any further funding discussions until after the FY15 budget was passed.

At that time, commissioner Jeff Jacques, said he did not want to move forward with any plan until he had all the numbers in front of him.

“I think before we get to that point, I think we need to evaluate,” he said. “We can  bounce back and forth about what we have in that jail fund. Nobody has told me what we actually have in that fund. Before I’m willing to go forward, I need to know how much we have in that fund.”

Jacques said he wanted to know what future jail expenditures and revenues will be as well as what the next fiscal budget will look like before making a decision on funding.
But last week, the Franklin County Grand Jury again ordered the county to pay for a jail expansion.

According to their presentments, the Grand Jury wants to hear from the County Commission and the County manager every two months to get an update on county finances.

And they want the county to move forward, quote “take swift action” on previous grand jury recommendations to come up with a concrete plan to expand the jail.

They also recommended the jail expansion be put on the November 2016 ballot in the form of a SPLOST referendum.

Also under discussion tonight, the issue of county paid health insurance for commissioners.

At their regular meeting earlier this month, the board voted to advertise their intention to re-instate the health plan for commissioners.

Franklin County Commission Chair Thomas Bridges also said he wanted to hear from citizens on the matter.

But Commissioner Jeff Jacques questioned where the county would get the money to provide the coverage. He also pointed out that the County’s own Employee Handbook specifies that county health insurance is only for full-time employees.

 “The statue created by the Georgia Legislature specifically stipulates that the Board of Commissioners is a part-time entity,” Jacques said. “So, the motion that is moving forward is basically totally against our personnel handbook.”

In 2011, the previous board voted to eliminate county health insurance for board members as a cost-saving measure.

The county health insurance plan would cost each commissioner about $495 a month with a $2,000 deductible or around $6,000 a year per commissioner.

Tonight’s work session begins at 6p at the Franklin County Justice Center in Carnesville.