ALFRED — The president of the County Patrol Association said Tuesday that sheriff’s deputies are willing to step up and pay a portion of their health insurance costs.

Sgt. Ron Lund said the union has been encouraging the county to look at companies that might be able to offer insurance coverage for less money than the current provider, Harvard Pilgrim.

Faced with a 24.9 percent increase in health insurance costs for county workers and hikes in other insurance along with declining revenues, York County commissioners last week approved a county budget for 2012 that ”“ if passed by the county budget committee as presented ”“ would mean a layoff of about five county workers.

That is because the proposed budget, at $18.16 million, is based on provisions in current union contracts where the county picks up the tab for 100 percent of employee health insurance coverage and 50 percent of family coverage. Commissioners want all county workers to contribute 15 percent of the cost to their health insurance. The county would continue to pick up 50 percent of the cost of family coverage.

The commissioners say they don’t want to increase the $15.92 million tax assessment to municipalities and if the 100 percent county-paid employee insurance stands, layoffs will ensue because they won’t have enough money to pay all of the current workers.

Lund said CPA members understand the tough economy.

“We’re obviously concerned about the county budget,” said Lund.

He said members are willing to pay part of their insurance, but are looking for reasonable rates.

He said the County Patrol Association has been recommending for the past seven or eight months that the county look elsewhere for insurance. And a suggestion the unions made that an insurance committee be formed to examine insurance rates went nowhere this year, he said.

“It hasn’t happened,” Lund said. “Our goal is to save money for the county and (for) employees.”

Lund pointed out that for the past few years, county budgets have been flat-funded while expenses have gone up.

Health insurance costs for the county will increase more than $400,000 in 2012. Half of that amount is attributed to York County Jail and falls within the annual $8.667 million cap the county pays for jail operations under state consolidation, leaving about $218,000 in medical insurance increases to the county budget ”“ and there are hikes in other insurance, county officials have said.

The National Correctional Employees Union, which represents staff at York County Jail, recently approved a contract that includes the 15 percent contribution.

Contracts with the CPA and Maine State Employees Association that represents clerical and custodial workers, remain unsettled.

County Manager Gregory Zinser last week said the five layoffs ”“ one in the Registry of Deeds and two each at York County Sheriff’s Office and York County District Attorney’s Office ”“ could be mitigated, depending on the outcome of union contracts.

He said it was unfortunate that contract negotiations and budget preparations came at the same time and that the budget had to be formulated based on the current situation.

Lund said the CPA is eager to be working with Zinser and is looking forward to sitting down and working the insurance issue out as a team.

Now that the county commissioners have approved the budget, it moves on to the York County Budget Committee for their review and vote.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.