Thousands of dollars in workers compensation insurance savings were mentioned at the Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

County Human Resources Director Amber Armbruster gave an update to the board on the safety committee, as this time of year they typically undergo safety inspections of all the county buildings. She shared that last fall the committee created a form for department heads to submit fund requests to the committee, to which they approved several requests at their April meeting and they will review more at a meeting later this month. Armbruster mentioned that the committee reviews workers compensation claims at their meetings, and she feels that they’ve done a very good job at keeping premiums low. County Auditor Dan Widmer said that the county saves $200,000 annually on workers compensation, “That’s something that Amber and her safety committee have done a really good job with is getting people back to work sooner rather than later, part time, or just getting people back to work and it’s not that the county is being selfish. That is a good thing for individuals to be able to get back to work and kind of get back into the swing of things.”

Widmer attributed the committee’s success to Armbruster’s tenure over the last six years, and the committee’s current members which include Supervisor Board Chair Richard Young. Armbruster mentioned this May that she has been distributing information to county employees for Mental Health Awareness Month, and will do the same this June for National Safety Month.