Uncertain budget for benefit Posted: Sunday, September 21, 2014 12:00 am By Karla Bowsher kbowsher@chronicle-tribune Four Marion City Council members are now on the city’s employee health insurance plan — but it’s unclear whether council members are budgeting enough money to cover four people next year. Jim Brunner, R-Ward 3, Madonna French, R-Ward 2, and Brad Luzadder, R-At large, have received insurance through the city since 2008, according to information provided by the city in response to a public record request. Don Batchelor, D-Ward 5, left the city plan in 2012 but rejoined this month. Several council members said they didn’t know Batchelor was again taking city insurance. A discussion of how much money should be built into the city’s 2015 budget for council members’ health insurance costs led one council member to raise the question as to which members are insured through the city on Sept. 4, the final night of the council’s 2015 budget hearings. As the fiscal branch of the city government, the city council must approve the city’s annual budget every fall by state law. The city administration’s proposed 2015 budget as first provided to council members in mid- August listed about $90,000 on the line item for council members’ insurance, as was the case the year before. City Controller Retha Hicks said that $48,000 should be budgeted because she projected $16,000 per person for three people receiving insurance next year. It’s unclear whether that line item had been changed, though. Hicks did not respond to an email inquiry last week. Council member Joselyn Whitticker, who chairs the council’s Finance and Budget Committee this year, repeatedly asked Hicks during the Sept. 4 hearing which council members are on the city’s plan. Hicks said she did not have that information on hand. Mayor Wayne Seybold suggested Whitticker question the council president, Henry Smith, D- Ward 4, instead of his employee, who took over as controller in July. Smith declined to answer the question during the hearing or afterward. “I hate bringing out people’s names in public,” he said after the meeting despite acknowledging that it’s public information. Six of the nine council members did not respond to voicemail messages left last week — Brunner, French, Luzadder and Batchelor as well as Fred Troxell and Whitticker. Reggie Nevels said Thursday that he thought three council members were on the city’s plan but that he didn’t know which three. “To be honest with you, it’s none of my business who’s on insurance,” he said.  The longtime Grant County Sheriff’s Department employee was previously on the city’s plan for more than five years but left it in December 2012, a few months before he announced his campaign for sheriff. As for his fellow council members, Nevels said he favored budgeting public money for the elected officials’ insurance again next year. “I’m not against it. I’m for it. That’s a good perk for the council members to get if they pay for it,” he said. Paul Thompson Jr. also said he thought three council members were receiving health insurance through the city. Although he does not — instead “try(ing) to get by with” Medicare — Thompson is not necessarily against council members receiving the benefit. “If we had the money for it, I would be in favor of it,” he said. Thompson thinks it’s unfair for some to receive insurance and not others, though. “Those who don’t take it are being cheated,” he said. “That insurance is (worth) a whole lot more than we earn as a council member.” Council members are compensated about $7,750 annually for their time at twice-monthly meetings, intermittent committee meetings and outside of meetings. Smith also said Thursday he thought three council members were on the city’s plan. Though he is not, he is not against budgeting money for those who are on it because of state law. “The state says they have to go in there,” Smith said. “I’m just going to go with what the state says.” Mayor Wayne Seybold has made similar statements. “I believe state law says that councils have to be offered full benefits. It has been offered to members for many, many years,” he said. The council’s attorney, Phil Stephenson, pointed out that the chapter of state law governing group insurance for public employees defines “employee” as not just “a full-time employee” but also as “an elected or appointed officer or official.” The chapter goes on to state that public employers like the city “may provide programs of group insurance for its employees and retired employees. The public employer may, however, exclude part-time employees and persons who provide services to the unit under contract from any group insurance coverage that the public employer provides to the employer’s full-time employees.” “Note that it does not permit the exclusion of elected officials,” Stephenson said Friday. Seybold said Democrats made an issue of which council members’ receive insurance through the city during the past municipal election because they were not receiving it at the time.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 04:52:42 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015