Riley County officials painted a grim picture of rising employee benefit costs following a new long-term analysis presented to county commissioners Thursday.
The county’s human resources and budget and finance departments recently completed a seven-year review of benefit expenses, which concluded that the county’s long-standing estimate is no longer sufficient. Since 2020, Riley County budgeted benefits at approximately 39.5% of employee salaries.
Budget and finance officer Brittany Phillips told commissioners that because of rising health insurance costs, the county needs to increase that figure to about 42%.
