District Attorney Scott Ballad headed to the Fayette County Commission last Wednesday hoping to get better benefits for some of his employees.

By the time he left, he probably realized what many department heads already know: if you’re looking to spend some of the county’s money, you better have all your facts and figures at hand.

Ballard told the County Commission that some of the employees in his office, such as the assistant district attorneys, are considered state employees and receive state benefits.

But many of the other employees are considered “circuit” employees, so Ballard has to shop around and try and find the best insurance and benefits package.

As insurance costs skyrocket, Ballard has quickly discovered that there is no way he can compete with state benefits, which causes him some concern.

“I’m afraid that we could lose some good people,” he said.

Ballard offered the commissioners two options to try and solve the problem. The county could agree to let the employees sign up for the state program, which would not cost anything for the remainder of the year, or the employees could be classified as Fayette County employees and receive the county’s benefits package.

“The county cost would be between $34,000-$46,000 a year, which I don’t think would be a wise expenditure of taxpayers’ money,” he said.

While the commission sympathized with Ballard’s problem, they were reluctant to commit to either option.

“When I look at this, I don’t know where to go. You’ve got so many funds paying for different people,” said Chairman Greg Dunn.

Dunn also pointed out the county was paying more on a per capita basis for insurance costs on some of Ballard’s employees than other county employees.

“We need to find out the real impact on taxpayers,” Dunn added.

Commissioner Linda Wells agreed and said this process was not how the county conducted business.

“We can’t keep revisiting this. We don’t budget like this,” she said.

Dunn suggested Ballard figure out the total costs of joining the state program and report back to the board during budget time next year.

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