Board of Commissioners Special

MINUTES of SPECIAL MEETING of the BOARD of COMMISSIONERS of the CITY of BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY held APRIL 29, 2008 The Board of Commissioners of the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky met in special session in the Commission Chamber of City Hall, Bowling Green, Kentucky at 4:00 p.m. on April 29, 2008. Mayor Elaine N. Walker called the meeting to order. Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Katie Schaller called the roll, and the following members were present: Commissioner Joe W. Denning, Commissioner Brian “Slim” Nash, Commissioner Brian K. Strow, Commissioner Bruce Wilkerson and Mayor Elaine N. Walker. Absent: none. There was a full quorum of the Board of Commissioners. ORDINANCE NO. BG2008 – 20 (First Reading) ORDINANCE CONFIRMING SALE AND AWARDING NATURAL GAS FRANCHISE ORDINANCE CONFIRMING THE SALE AND AWARDING A NON- EXCLUSIVE NATURAL GAS FRANCHISE TO ATMOS ENERGY CORPORATION FOR A TERM OF TEN (10) YEARS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF A NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM ALONG AND UNDER PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY WITHIN THE CITY OF BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY, IN RETURN FOR WHICH THE FRANCHISEE SHALL PAY TO THE CITY AN ANNUAL SUM EQUAL TO ONE PERCENT (1%) OF THE GROSS REVENUES DERIVED FROM THE FRANCHISE AWARDED HEREIN Title and summary of Ordinance No. BG2008 - 20 was read by the Assistant City Manager/City Clerk. Motion was made by Wilkerson and seconded by Strow for first reading of said Ordinance. Comm. Denning requested clarification regarding the franchise revenues dedicated to the Welfare Center. Mayor Walker replied that the action to dedicate revenues received from the gas franchise in excess of $200,000 was previously approved by Municipal Order No. 2008 – 30 and was not part of this Ordinance. With no additional discussion, a roll call vote was taken. ROLL CALL: Voting Yea: Denning, Nash, Strow, Wilkerson and Walker Voting Nay: None First reading of Ordinance No. BG2008 - 20 was approved by unanimous vote. WORK SESSION The Employee/Management Health Insurance Committee presented recommendations for changes to the City’s Healthcare Plan. City Manager Kevin DeFebbo outlined the committee structure made up of five employee group representatives and four management staff, and its purpose to manage the healthcare plan to contain costs. Committee members Parks and Recreation representative Dudly Porter, Police representative Todd Porter, City Hall Campus representative Steve Milam and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Meisel reviewed the current conditions of the Healthcare Trust, impact of inflation, preservation of plan design, plan costs and employee investment, and principles of action *Note: Minutes are a summary of the discussions; a video recording of this entire meeting is maintained by the Office of City Clerk. (Minutes-Board of Commissioners-April 29, 2008) and values. The Committee recommended three changes: 1) change the plan year from July – June to January – December; 2) spousal waiver, with one-time cash payment for spouses on the City’s plan prior to July 1, 2008 who leave; and 3) plan choice by offering three plans with varied deductibles and suggested premiums. With regard to spousal waiver, Mr. Milam explained that spouses who were offered group coverage from their employer would be required to take that coverage as primary, but would be permitted to remain on the City’s plan as a secondary and in which case, would not be eligible to receive the cash payment. He also noted that spouses would be able to remain on the City’s Dental Insurance Plan. In addition, Mr. DeFebbo outlined future plans to limit plan liability, provide incentives to live healthier through wellness programs, educate employees to become better consumers and provide a better understanding of self-funded insurance plans, and to balance plan design with cost of premium. The City’s Agent of Record Mark Morgan of Sherril D. Morgan & Associates responded to questions from the Board of Commissioners regarding the spousal waiver, a change from a four-tier plan to a three-tier plan by combining Employee + Spouse and Employee + Child(ren) to Employee + 1, the calculation of the premium cost, and other changes that could be made to the plan to help reduce costs further. ADJOURNMENT This being a special meeting and with no further business to come before the Board of Commissioners, at approximately 5:15 p.m., Mayor Walker declared this meeting adjourned. ADOPTED: ______________________________________________ APPROVED: ______________________________________________ Mayor, Chairman of Board of Commissioners ATTEST: ______________________________________________ City Clerk Minutes prepared by Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Katie Schaller 2