Butler County employees will pay slightly more for health insurance next year.

The county commissioners Wednesday voted to renew the county’s health plan with Highmark effective Jan. 1 with a 4 percent premium increase for 2016.

With this increase, employees who are covered will pay either $12.03 or $25.34 per two-week pay period for individual insurance all the way up to $37.21 or $78.41 for family coverage. The county offers two separate plans with Highmark.

Current rates are $11.57 or $24.36 for individual coverage and up to $35.78 or $75.39 for family coverage.

Insurance rates also will increase in 2017, but the increase will not exceed 9 percent.

The commissioners renewed dental insurance for 2016 with a 6 percent increase in premiums. Individual premiums for an individual will be $2.15 per pay period in 2016 and $6.40 for a family plan.

In other action, the commissioners:

n Renewed two contracts for the Area Agency on Aging. One contract, running from September of this year to September 2016, with Abila Virtual Services of Texas is for the agency’s accounting software. The other contract, running from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, with the Nutrition Group is for nutrition services.

Neither contract has a price increase and no county funds are involved.

n Amended the contracts for the county coroner’s forensic services with three pathologists and one autopsy technician.

The fee for each autopsy for the pathologists has increased by $100 to $900, and the fee for the technician has increased by $15 to $200. The fees have remained the same since 2006. The amendments are effective Nov. 1.

n Gave permission for the county recycling and waste management department to apply for a state recycling grant not to exceed $250,000 on behalf of the Butler County Blind Association.

The grant will be used to provide a 40 horsepower shredder, a small box truck, containers, signs and tracking devices for the association’s Out of Sight Shredding service. The association runs the shredding service to raise funds.

The grant requires a municipality to apply and then to manage the equipment the grant pays for. The county will own the equipment, but the association will be responsible for maintenance and liability.