Arkansas Finance Board
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Hosted by way of teleconference, board members authorised charges which might be anticipated to drop prices for public faculty and state staff subsequent 12 months.
Per testimony on the assembly, some 80 p.c of lively public faculty staff will see decreases of their portion of premium charges over the following 5 years, whereas comparable decreases are anticipated for state staff.
Some base charges, notably for non-medicare eligible retirees are growing, however board members had been assured that the portion the state pays for was going up as effectively.
All 11 board members voted to approve the charges, in addition to the removing of the state’s $50 wellness low cost for its insurance policy.
Whereas the wellness program will proceed, advantages for finishing this system necessities will probably be determined at a later date.
In different state information on Monday, Commerce Secretary Mike Preston named Glen Howie Arkansas’ new Broadband Director.
Beforehand employed by Louisiana’s Workplace of Broadband Improvement and Connectivity, Howie has 12 years of expertise and holds bachelor’s and grasp’s levels from Louisiana State College.
He’s now tasked with finishing up the Commerce Division’s three-year plan to supply broadband entry to 110,000 households throughout the state.
“I am happy to welcome Glen Howie to Arkansas, and I’m assured that he’s as much as the duty of increasing the provision of broadband to each nook of the state,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson mentioned, per a press launch offered to the Log Cabin.
“Broadband supply has at all times been one in all my high priorities. For Arkansas to achieve its full financial potential, we have to do every part we will to shut the digital divide and make sure that our residents in rural communities have the identical alternatives as counterparts in bigger cities.”
Howie mentioned he’s honored to be tasked with main the Commerce Division’s broadband program.
“Like railways two centuries in the past and electrical energy 100 years in the past, broadband web entry right now has develop into a crucial piece of infrastructure, igniting financial progress, enhancing well being outcomes, enhancing agricultural output and advancing the tutorial expertise of our kids,” Howie mentioned.
“It’s an honor and privilege to be entrusted to construct upon the prior success of the state broadband workplace and lead the group charged with offering a transformational alternative to all Arkansans.”
