Hall Commission looks at restoring retirement

GAINESVILLE - Hall County employees should find out Thursday if the county will begin contributing to their retirement accounts again for at least seven months, the remainder of the fiscal year. County Administrator Charlie Nix proposed doing that to help boost morale; the benefits were cut because of the economy, but Commissioner Steve Gailey cautioned the economy may not improve.
Nix proposed using part of a $5-million cash balance in the land fill fund to restore the benefits.

COUNTY HEALTH INSURANCE SPIKES

The cost of health insurance for Hall County employees is going up. Linda Pryor with Human Resources explained that claims were larger, and insurance costs are going up next year just over 10 percent. The cost hike affects drugs and doctor visit co-pays. Employee contributions are also increasing to $27 a month for individual employees and $32 for all other insurance levels; commissioners agreed to put the increases on their consent agenda.

HALL FACE BOOK

A proposal for Hall County to go on 'Face Book' from Public Information Officer Nikki Young drew fire; Young said Georgia cities are turning to social media to keep in touch with the public, but outgoing commissioners Bobby Banks and Steve Gailey objected.
Young said the Face Book page would be non-political and non-defamatory and visitors would correctly identify themselves. Commissioners agreed 3-2 to try Face Book for a month on a trial basis.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2010/10/232986