There may be departments, offices and agencies within state government that hog the spotlight and get attention in any number of ways, but few affect the everyday goings-on of residents of North Carolina like the office of the state treasurer.
Treasurer Dale Folwell, closing out his second term as the state’s chief financial officer, wears a variety of hats, from chairing the Local Government Commission and connecting people to “lost” cash, to advocating for the state retirees’ pension and state employees’ health insurance.
This year’s open enrollment period for state employees and retirees runs from Sept. 30 – Oct. 25. “It’s the longest open enrollment period we ever had,” Folwell said, “and that’s by design.”
This is an important time because the state is transitioning to a new third-party administrator. In January, Aetna will take over from Blue Cross, and Folwell said folks will need to make some choices during open enrollment.
“Pay attention to your emails, don’t procrastinate, and read what it says,” Folwell said on Monday’s TownTalk.
If you’re among 150,000 or so state retirees on Humana’s Basic Plan, you should be all set – no action necessary. But the 600,000 or so other state employees and retirees will need to make sure they choose from their options during open enrollment.
There’s a bus tour happening now to bring information about the transition to residents across the state and McGregor Hall in Henderson will host a stop on Wednesday, Oct. 2 from 3-5 p.m. Visit https://www.shpnc.org/ and follow the links to register for this or other dates.
Folwell will be retiring at the end of this term – an unsuccessful bid for governor meant he was not eligible to file for re-election as treasurer, but he’s been no lame duck during his last months as treasurer.
Just last week, the LGC approved two key projects with local ties – a $400,000 for the City of Henderson to address lead pipe mitigation and a multi-million-dollar project to lay 23+ miles of water lines in the Kittrell area and to make improvements to that town’s 100,000-gallon water tank.
Henderson and Vance County are just two of the approximately 1,200 units that report to the LGC, which Folwell said was established 75 years or so ago as a measure to protect municipalities and county governments from insolvency.
Once Folwell hangs up all the hats associated with his current office, he said he’ll have plenty to keep him busy.
“I love fixing and I love saving,” he explained. As for the fixing part, he ticked off three things that will get his attention: his relationship with God, his family and motorcycles.
“I think I ‘m going to be very happy doing that,” he said.
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