110 Central Plaza South Canton, OH 44702 (330) 451-7905 www.starkcountyohio.gov/human-resources

Policy Manual

Updates

Flu Shots

New Acting Coroner

Open Enrollment

2017 H&W Fair

EAP News

Third Quarter

2017

VOLUME 2.

ISSUE 3.

Columbus Day

October 9th

UPCOMING

HOLIDAY

Revised and Newly Added Employee Policies On Wednesday, August 2nd, 2017, the Board of Stark County Commissioners approved the revision and addition of several employment related policies in the Employee Policy Manual. The revisions, while minor, were necessary to address typographical errors, changes in employment law and employment-related experiences. The revised policies include the following: 4.17 Travel; 4.19 Use of County Vehicles; 5.07 Drug Free Work-place; 5.08 Alcohol Drug Testing; 6.08 Health Insurance; 7.04 Military Leave; and 7.06 Bereavement Leave. Two new policies were also added to describe the purpose and use of the County’s recently approved use of Procurement Cards (4.20) and our new Em-ployee Assistance Program through LifeServices (6.11). The complete master copy of the Policy Manual, as well as individual policies can be viewed online at http://www.starkcountyohio.gov/human-resources/employee-policy-manual. All revised content appears in red. While the policies included in the Board of Stark County Commissioners’ Employee Poli-cy Manual apply to only those employees under the hiring authority of the Board of Stark County Commissioners, we are aware that many offices model their policies to align with those of the Board. If anyone has any questions regarding the revised policies, or the newly added policies, please contact Michael Kimble at mhkimble@starkcountyohio.gov or by phone at ext. 7925.

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2017 Flu Shots The Board of Commissioners has again arranged an on-site flu clinic for ALL County employees be-

ginning September 18th, While there is no cost for these flu shots, insured employees are required

to bring their health insurance card and ID. Non-insured employees are only required to bring an

ID. **PLEASE SEE ATTACHED FLYER FOR DETAILS

Employees should pre-register to Dorothy Dittemore in the Commissioner's HR Department via

email to: dadittemore@starkcountyohio.gov or by phone at 330-451-7999. Please specify when reg-

istering if you would like the dose of flu shot for ages 65 and over so that we can inform Walgreens

ahead of time.

We will be taking part in the “Get a Shot Give a

Shot” program. The program details that for every

person that gets a flu shot, one will be sent to help a

child in a third world country.

New Interim Coroner

www.starkcountyohio.gov/human-resources Volume 2. Issue 3

If you were unable to attend….here is some of what you missed!

Congratulations to the Door Prize Winners!

Katie Hummel Skyler Dewey Andrew Reed

Cheryse McLeod Kelly Stanford Judge Mary Falvey

Loralynn Wharton Rosalind Fetzer Kristin Zalenski

Danielle Bouchachem John Long Wendy Blair

P. Luke Dostal Vicki Dennewitz Twyla Saulter

Hope to see you all next year!

OPEN ENROLLMENT

The Open Enrollment period is Monday

November 6th through Wednesday,

November 22nd. This is the time for

employees to make or change elections

to their health and group term life insur-

ance plans. Further information to fol-

low.

If you have any questions, please contact

Carol Hayn, Benefits Coordinator at

330-451-7179.

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The Board of Stark County Commis-sioners appointed a new acting Cor-oner, Dr. Anthony Bertin, effective July 29, 2017. This was followed by a subsequent vote by the Stark County Democratic Party officially appointing Dr. Bertin to the position in a voice vote. Dr. Bertin has been employed part-time at the Stark County Coroner’s Office as a Deputy Coroner, and will now assume the role as full time Coroner since the retirement of Dr. P.S. Murthy.

Dr. Bertin was sworn in on Wednesday, July 26th, 2017 by

Judge Chyrssa Hartnett.

Congratulations Dr. Bertin

2017 Health & Wellness Fair

www.starkcountyohio.gov/human-resources Volume 2. Issue 3

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www.starkcountyohio.gov/human-resources Volume 2. Issue 3

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Life Services EAP—Getting Ready for College: Paying for College

Families are not alone in paying the costs of college: Every year millions of students apply for and receive financial aid, and almost half of all students who go to college receive some kind of

financial aid, according to the U.S. Department of Education. College represents an investment in this country's most precious resource—its children. No child who wants to go to college and

is willing to work hard should be prevented by financial need. Here's what to do:

Start saving early. Saving money is the best way to prepare for meeting the costs of college. Set aside money each month, starting now, to build a college fund. Think about where your

child might attend college, how much that type of college might cost, and how much you can afford to save. The earlier you and your child begin saving, the smaller the amount you will

have to set aside each month.

Apply for financial aid. All needy students can apply for federal, state, and other student fi-nancial aid to help them pay for college. The two major types of aid are grants or scholarships,

which do not have to be repaid, and loans, which are available to students and parents. Like a

car loan or a mortgage, these must eventually be repaid.

Where can you apply for financial aid? According to the U.S. Department of Education, the federal government supplies billions of dollars annually in student aid and is the largest pro-

vider of all student aid.

Pell Grants are the most important form of student financial aid for the nation's neediest

students. The size of the grant depends on the student's need.

The Work-Study Program lets students work during the summer or part-time during the

school year to help pay for college. Colleges help find jobs for students, and the federal govern-ment helps pay the salary. Work-study jobs give students valuable work experience and are often related to the student's classes or future career, in addition to helping pay the costs of

college.

Federal Loans are available to both students and parents. Stafford Loans for students are

either subsidized, for needy students, where some of the accumulated interest is paid by the government, or unsubsidized, where the student pays all of the accumulated interest. PLUS Loans (formerly Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students) are loans to parents for any costs

that are not paid for by other aid.

A Quick Word About Student Loans: Students usually do not have to start repaying their loans until after they finish school, and the interest rate is usually lower than for other kinds

of loans. Many students are hesitant to take out loans, but remember college graduates usual-ly make a good deal more money than people who do not have a college education, so paying back a loan after graduation will be easier than it might seem. Nevertheless, it is important

that both students and parents understand the terms of the loan before agreeing to them, and know when repayment will begin and how much their payments will be. There are many differ-

ent education loans, so before taking out any loan, be sure to find out what the exact condi-tions of the loan are.

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Other Assistance—Organizations,

foundations, and other groups offer scholarships to academically promising

students, minorities, women, and stu-dents with disabilities. To learn more about these scholarships, speak with

your school guidance counselor or go to the reference section of the public li-

brary.

Serve your country—Many opportuni-

ties exist for students to pay for all or part of a college education by serving their country during or after their col-

lege years. Service in Americorps, the Merchant Marine Academy, the coun-try's domestic Peace Corps, or in the Re-

serve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) en-titles students to scholarships of vary-

ing amounts to cover educational ex-penses. The U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force each has its own military acade-

my (a four-year college and a commis-sion in the military after graduation),

where tuition is free, but only the most highly qualified students are admitted. Local armed forces recruiting offices can

provide more information. Call 1-800-94-ACORPS (1-800-942-2677) for more in-formation about Americorps.

More Information on Federal Aid—For the most up-to-date information about student aid supplied by the U.S. De-

partment of Education, call the Federal Student Financial Aid Information Cen-ter toll-free at 1-800-4FED-AID (1-800-

433-3243).

Other Forms of Aid:

Federal Aid Administered by Colleges—

College-administered aid includes Perkins Loans and Supplemental Educational Op-portunity Grants (SEOGs). The U.S. Depart-ment of Education gives the aid to colleg-

es, who decide which of their students

need it most.

HOPE Scholarships (Helping Outstand-

ing Pupils Educationally), Lifetime Learning Tax Credits, and Other Tax

Benefits for Higher Education—The HOPE Scholarship tax credit provides a

maximum of $1,800 (100% of the first $1,000 of tuition and required fees, and a 50% credit on the second $1,000) for each

of the first two years of college. The Life-time Learning tax credit provides a maxi-

mum $2,000 tax credit to help college jun-iors and seniors and graduate and profes-

sional degree students, as well as adults who want to go back to school. For de-tailed information on who is eligible for

these tax benefits, it's best to refer to In-ternal Revenue Service (IRS) forms and publications which are available at http://

www.irs.gov/.

States and Colleges—Many states and colleges offer financial assistance directly to individual students based on need or

merit. Merit-based aid, usually scholar-ships or grants, is given to students who

meet requirements not related to financial needs—like doing well in high school or displaying artistic or athletic talent. A no-

table example of state aid is the Georgia HOPE Scholarship, which guarantees stu-

dents who are residents of Georgia free tu-ition at public colleges and universities as

long as they have earned a B average and stayed off of drugs. Call or write your state's higher education agency or college

financial aid offices to request information about similar opportunities that may be

available in your state.

www.starkcountyohio.gov/human-resources Volume 2. Issue 3

THE BOARD OF STARK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

JANET CREIGHTON

RICHARD REGULA

BILL SMITH

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