A Motion to end health insurance as a paid benefit for Jurors at the end of the current term passed with a unanimous vote at last night’s Winn Parish Police Jury meeting. The motion was made by Winn Parish Police Jury Vice President Allen Michael McCartney, District 7 and seconded by Juror Kirk Miles, District 5.
During a discussion of the motion before the jury voted, McCartney outlined the rising cost of health insurance and the toll it could take on the police jury budget in the future. Police Jury President Josh McAllister commented that “the hard pill to swallow” is that health insurance is an uncontrollable cost that the jury may not be able to afford at some point in time. McAllister also pointed out that he has never taken the insurance and has always agreed that jurors should not have health insurance for a part-time job. “Although if you do this job right it’s a full-time job,” stated McAllister.
District 6 Juror, Author Robinson added that he stands by his previous comments that eliminating health insurance for jurors will make it harder to find responsible jurors to run for a police jury seat. He added that he does not agree with the motion but since it will be four years before it takes effect he is “going to go with it.”
District 4 Juror Tammy Griffin expressed that the numbers sound “horrific” when they are added up but you have to stop and think that not every juror is on the health insurance and so the huge number that “freaked” everyone out is not the actual number that it has been costing. Griffin added that she has decided to not take the health insurance because she would rather that money go to her community. “It would have benefited me to be on the health insurance because my deductible is much higher paying personally and I do not have any other coverage as some of the other jurors do, but I agree that it does cost our community a lot of money,” stated Griffin.
Ending health insurance for police jurors is something that Mike Carpenter and I’ve been trying to get passed since the last term said, McCartney. “I feel like and I’ve always felt like it’s the right thing to do and it’s more in alignment with the opinions of the people who elect us,” he added.