City Commission Workshop Meeting

APPROVED: 3/21/2013 City Hall City of Eustis, Florida 10 North Grove Street Post Office Drawer 68 Eustis, FL 32727-0068 Meeting Minutes- Final* City Commission Workshop Thursday, March 7, 2013 6:30PM City Hall CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Muenzmay -7:30p.m. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF QUORUM AND PROPER NOTICE Present: 5 - Linda Bob; Albert Eckian; Michael Holland; Karen LeHeup-Smith; and Kress Muenzmay I. Workshop Item 13056 Benefits Consultant Report Ann Isaacs, Human Resources Director, explained that an RFP was issued to obtain a benefits consultant and introduced members of the benefits committee that were present. She further explained that staff will be bringing back to the Commission additional recommendations regarding pay and classifications. Cathy Gordon, Siver Insurance, reported on their review of the City's health insurance through PRM noting that, had the City been on their own instead of going through PRM, the premiums would have been much higher. She did not recommend marketing the health insurance for 2013-14 unless the renewal comes in extraordinarily high. She explained Blue Cross would not provide the City with a separate proposal unless the City separated from PRM. She commented on problems staff has experienced with responsiveness from PRM and recommended that, for the time being, the City stay with PRM but be more pro-active in lobbying PRM. She commented on the possibility of the City going to a four-tier health premium plan rather than two. She stated the other City benefits are comparable with other area governments and the only insurance they recommend possibly marketing is the dental insurance if an increase in premium is requested. Ms. Gordon then reported on their review of the City's paid leave policy which they concluded was better than the average and consistent with other Florida government agencies. She stated they did look at the possibility of moving to a Paid Time Off (PTO) leave policy. She commented on the possibility that current employees might be afraid of losing accrued benefits if a move was made to PTO. She concluded noting that the majority of the 14 cities reviewed use Florida Blue and a 4-tier premium plan. She noted that only one offers free insurance to the employee. Theresa Connelly explained one of the resources they used for comparison was the 2012 Kaiser Family Benefits Report. She stated that the City is either in line with the national averages or better. She noted that health insurance premiums have doubled over the past ten years with both employers and employees paying more with salaries not increasing comparatively. She further reviewed comparisons with the national survey for both public and private entities. She commented on their review of the possibility of providing an employee health clinic and stated their recommendation that the City not provide an onsite health clinic unless they did it in conjunction with other cities. She then commented on a proposal that the City provide a defined contribution plan which would allow each employee to pick and choose the coverage they get. She explained the outcomes under different scenarios. Ms. Connelly then reported on the benefit to the City of providing an annual benefit wage statement to the employees. She stated that a lot of the health care reforms will not affect the City until October 1, 2014 due to the timing of the City's renewals. She noted that a number of reforms have already been implemented by the City including the women's preventative services mandate, the W-2 reporting and FSA limitations. She commented on the following potential fees that may be required within the next year or two: 1) The patient-centered research outcomes fee which would be $1 per participant per year City of Eustis, Florida Page 1 Printed on 311312013 City Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes - Final March 7, 2013 with an estimated annual cost of $430 for the first year; 2) the transitional re-insurance program fee, which will begin in 2014, will be $63 per participant per year for a total cost per year of approximately $30,000. She stated that other health care reform changes that will go into effect October 1st include the following: 1) the plans will have to meet some essential benefits defined by the act; 2) the City will have to have some actuarial value to the overall health plan in place; and 3) guaranteed availability of coverage to employees. She emphasized that PRM and Florida Blue should assist the City to make sure they are in compliance with the requirements. Ms. Connelly then stated that the health exchanges are still slated to open in 2014; however, final information is not yet available so the City will have to remain cognizant of that requirement. II. Commission Discussion Mayor Muenzmay asked to have public input prior to Commission discussion. He asked if the Commission had any questions first. The Commission asked if the insurance company asks for the number of dependents under the family plan. Ms. Isaacs responded that the premium is the same regardless of the number of dependents. She explained that, if the City goes with a 4-tier plan, the City's total premium would still be the same. III. Public Input Mayor Muenzmay opened the floor to public comment at 7:58p.m. The following employees addressed the Commission in support of maintaining the employee benefits as is and not implementing a PTO program or a 4-tier premium: Dan Post, 2508 Valley Forge Ct. , Eustis; Shane McSheehy, 17540 SE 294th Court Road, Umatilla; Kenneth Birkhofer, 305 Windemere Ave. , Eustis; Brad Carroll, 954 Vanderbilt Dr., Eustis; and Adam Donaldson, 105 Rockport St. , Eustis. There being no further comments, the public input was closed at 8:08p.m. IV. Commission Direction The Commission discussed the effect of a 4-tier system versus the current 2-tier, not utilizing a PTO program, not changing the benefits if the employees will be hurt, the possibility of providing raises in the next fiscal year, not making changes until more information is obtained about the health care reforms, keeping current sick and vacation leave, possibly getting proposals for different deductibles including a reduction to a $500 deductible, waiting to hear the compensation study recommendations, implementation of a benefit statement, and the sustainability of the benefits plans as they are. CONSENSUS: It was the consensus of the Commission to leave the employee benefits plan as is, for staff to work on a benefit statement for the employees and for staff to schedule the presentation of the compensation study as soon as available. Paul Berg, City Manager, stated that they would also maintain the employee committee and continue to share information as it becomes available. V. Adjournment - 8:21 p.m. City Clerk *These minutes reflect the actions taken and portions of the discussion during the meeting. To review the entire discussion concerning any agenda item, go to www.eustis.org and click on the video for the meeting in question . A DVD of the entire meeting or CD of the entire audio recording or verbatim transcript of the meeting can be obtained from the office of the City Clerk for a fee . City of Eustis, Florida Page2 Printed on 311312013