Health insurance costs rile county employees

Employees of Whitman County government pleaded for increased benefits Monday morning as commissioners discussed health insurance plans for the coming year.

“There’s been a paucity of investment in employees,” Deputy Prosecutor Byron Bedirian told commissioners. “We’re invested in this county. We like working here; we like working with each other; we like working with you, and we like working with the public.”

The current package of salary and benefits given county employees, said Kris Thompson, clerk for district court, means many have to work second or third jobs. Thompson added the current p...