While the health care costs for both Butler County and its employees will rise next year, shrewd bargaining by the county greatly softened the blow.

Scott Andrejak, the county's chief clerk, told the county commissioners at their Wednesday meeting that Highmark officials initially wanted to raise health care costs by 27 percent.

A team comprised of county human resources director Lori Altman, county solicitor Mike English and Andrejak negotiated the increase down to 16 percent, then to 9 percent before finally landing at 6 percent.

Andrejak said that means the health care costs to the county would rise from $7.3 million this year to $7.7 million in 2018, or by $450,000.

The commissioners are expected to vote on the matter at their meeting next Wednesday.

Andrejak said Highmark agreed to the smaller increase, but in return is requiring that the county sign a three-year contract instead of the traditional single-year deal.

Highmark also offered the county a $500,000 credit in each of those three years, Andrejak said.

“But we don't know what the premiums are going to be in 2019 and 2020,” Andrejak said.

He added that according to the seven collective bargaining contracts between the county and its various employees, there can be no more than a 10 percent increase in health care costs over the life of those contracts.

“Certainly 6 percent is a far cry better than 27 percent, which is what we were at in the beginning,” Andrejak said.

According to the collective bargaining contracts, if health care costs rise more than 10 percent for employees, county officials would be required to attempt to find ways to lower those costs.

If that were to prove impossible, a state arbitrator would review the situation before making a decision on how to lower the increase to keep it under 10 percent, Andrejak said.

He said if the commissioners approve the deal next week, premiums for the county and the share paid by workers would both increase.