Wichita County lowers retirement contribution rate, expands indigent dental care
Wichita County commissioners lowered the county’s 2027 retirement contribution rate Tuesday, a move expected to free about $670,000 for other expenses while leaving employee contributions and benefits unchanged.
The Commissioners Court unanimously set the county’s elected Texas County and District Retirement System contribution rate at 12.11%, including life insurance, down from 14%. The county’s required contribution rate is 10.55%.
County officials said each percentage-point reduction saves about $335,000. The nearly 2 percentage-point decrease is expected to offset the cost of premium pay for county jailers that had previously been funded with federal American Rescue Plan Act money.
Officials stressed the change applies only to the county’s contribution and will not reduce employee retirement benefits. They said the county will continue contributing more than the minimum required to maintain the retirement plan.
Commissioners also approved a new indigent health care policy allowing up to $2,500 in lifetime benefits for medically necessary restorative dental services, including dentures, crowns and certain preventive sealants.
The benefit may be used for one major course of treatment, although that treatment could involve several appointments or procedures. For example, officials said a crown could require a root canal first, while dentures could require tooth extractions.
The treatment must be approved before services are performed, and the county may seek an independent review. The policy does not allow a patient to pay the difference if a proposed treatment costs more than the $2,500 limit.
Human Services officials said the benefit was proposed after the Community Healthcare Center expanded its dental services. Some indigent patients had been referred elsewhere for procedures the county’s existing program did not cover.
Officials said sealants would be approved only when medically necessary, such as when they could prevent bacteria from entering a deep opening in a tooth and causing an infection that could ultimately require a more expensive extraction. Commissioners approved the policy 5-0.
The court separately renewed its durable medical equipment policy, including a one-time benefit of up to $1,500 toward a prosthetic device. Officials said the county funded one such purchase during the previous year.
Commissioners delayed action on proposed changes involving ambulatory surgical center billing and counseling services under the indigent health care program. The county judge requested another week to review the proposal and ask additional questions before the state’s September notification deadline.
In other business, commissioners selected a bid of about $72,890 for a precision environmental control unit for the Law Enforcement Center server room and approved another $5,800 for electrical work.
Officials said the server room’s existing system does not adequately control humidity, which has caused backup tapes to stick together and become unusable. The new system will regulate temperature and humidity and provide additional protection for critical servers and data-storage equipment.
Although the selected equipment bid was higher than another proposal, county staff recommended it because replacing the existing system will temporarily leave the server room dependent on a single rooftop unit. Officials said completing the work quickly is important because a cooling failure could damage expensive equipment.
The court also approved a $30,727.12 furniture purchase for the county annex in Burkburnett. The purchase will furnish the courtroom, judge’s office, staff offices, tax office and break room.
Commissioner Mickey Fincannon said the county reduced the project’s cost by purchasing storage cabinets separately rather than including higher-priced cabinets in the furniture contract.
Commissioners tabled a proposed increase to the amount authorized for security equipment at the Iowa Park annex after questioning a final invoice and the lack of details explaining the additional charges. The court requested more information from the contractor before reconsidering the item next week.
County Treasurer Stephen Jones reported county finances remained on track through June. The county had earned about $1.3 million in interest during the year, with most of that revenue coming from investment pools rather than checking accounts.
Jones said the county’s total cash balance was near the middle of its four-year trend and that remaining ARPA funds are expected to be spent this year.
The meeting opened with commissioners recognizing the Falls Town Football Club Under-19 girls team for winning the 2026 National Premier League championship. The team defeated FC Edmonds of Washington 1-0 on July 11 despite having only 12 players available for the championship match.