City of Lincoln to host special Public Meeting, February 3rd, pertaining to employee health insurance

 

[January 30, 2020] 

On Monday February 3rd, the city of Lincoln will host a special Public Meeting pertaining to employee health insurance. The meeting will be held prior to the regular city council meeting in council chambers at city hall starting at 5:30 p.m.

The meeting is being called after a dispute arose regarding changes in the employee health insurance plans for 2020 did not meet with the conditions of the contract with the fire fighters union.

Aldermen heard from Lincoln Firefighter Jason VanWinkle representing the Local 3092, on Tuesday, January 21st. He said according to the union contract with the fire fighters, the city was to provide health coverage with deductibles of $1,500 or less. However, the city recently switched policy plans to options with higher deductibles in order to save on the premium costs. VanWinkle said that the city was in violation of their contract and had 30 days to come up with a solution.

Typically, the health insurance has gone to a committee and during open meetings not a great deal is discussed about the plan options. That was the case this year as well. Nancy Schaub of RW Garrett Agency had worked with the committee and had reported significant increases in insurance premiums for 2020. In order to keep the premiums somewhat under control the city had opted for three plans with higher deductibles that would save approximately $144,000 per year for the city.

At the meeting on the 21st, Kevin Bateman said that the committee had done what was right for the city and he thought that the union could compromise. Van Winkle said that the conditions in the contract had been negotiated with the city and the city was obligated to stand behind their agreement.

Bateman then asked how VanWinkle proposed that the city should pay for the costs. VanWinkle had responded, “This is the burden of the city. It is not my role to come up with answers.”

Bateman also commented that there had been one employee from each of the three unions representing city municipal workers, firefighters and police had been present for the meetings, and that it was his understanding that the article in the contract could be amended if the union agreed.

This week, Roger Garrett and Sara Schwantz of RW Garrett came to the city with new plans for the city’s health insurance coverage.

For the 2019 coverage employees had three options; a Health Savings Account with zero deductible, an HMO with a $1,500 deductible, and a PPO with a $500 deductible.

The city had originally opted to go to an HMO with $500 deductible with an Health Savings Account (HSA) with a $2,800 deductible, or a PPO with a $2,500 deductible for 2020.

Garrett offered some new plans for consideration. Among those he said the city could choose an HMO with a zero deductible and $1,500 total out-of-pocket expense, a $500 deductible with $1,000 out-of-pocket, a zero deductible with an 80 percent co-pay or a zero deductible with a 90 percent co-pay.

In the PPO offerings he said that the three options would be a $2,500 deductible, $1,000 deductible, or a $1,500 deductible.

Also being offered for consideration was an HSA plan with a $2,800 deductible or an HSA with a $1,500 deductible and $3,000 out of pocket expense.

Ron Keller noted that in the original plans for 2020 Springfield Clinic had been excluded in the HMO coverage. Garrett said that the plans being offered now would cover expenses incurred at Springfield Clinic.

Police Chief Paul Adams said that it was his understanding that the biggest issue for the employees was the change in the deductible for the HSA plans. He said that going from a $1,500 deductible in 2019 to a $2,800 deductible in 2020 was a significant jump for staff. He added that he thought the police union would compromise some, but they might also want the city to compromise as well.

Fire Chief Bob Dunovsky said that the issue for the fire department union was the contract specified a $1,500 deductible. The city had violated the contract and they had only a short window remaining before the union would go into remediation.

The council talked about how to proceed, whether to take the whole proposal back to committee or have an open meeting with employees encouraged to attend.

Jeff Hoinacki also noted that the fire union in particular felt that they had not had the proper representation in the committee. They felt that union leadership had not been represented in the meetings.

Fire Chief Dunovsky explained that at the first meeting of the committee, the department had not been informed of the meeting until it was actually going on. He had been approached and asked if there was a firefighter on duty who would be willing to attend. He in turn had asked for a volunteer and one fire fighter stepped up to go. The same thing had happened at the second meeting and again a volunteer was sought from those on duty at the moment.

Kavelman said that she felt the answer now was to hold a meeting when all employees were welcome to participate. Because the city is now pushed for time for the renewal, getting everyone together at once would perhaps save some steps, and would give everyone a voice in the final decision.

The discussion that ensued revolved around how many might come to a meeting and who would do the talking. Some thought that the union leadership would probably be on hand to do the talking, and other staff might just be there to know first hand what is going on. However, with it being held as a public meeting anyone who wishes to speak may do so.

The aldermen discussed a change of venue for the meeting due to concerns of overcrowding, but because they have no way of knowing how many will attend they decided to keep the meeting at city hall. The council chamber has a capacity of 55 persons. The fire and police chiefs will have to monitor the room capacity and extra visitors may have to stand outside in the elevator lobby. If a large number wish to speak, people may have to be rotated in and out of the council chambers.

When discussing the time for the meeting, the first proposal was 6 p.m. on Monday evening, one hour before the regular voting session. City Treasurer Chuck Conzo said he didn’t think that would be nearly enough time. He suggested that if the city were going to start the meeting at 6 p.m., then the regular council meeting might be set back to 8 p.m. Hoinacki noted that according to the open meetings act a meeting may start later than the posted time, it just cannot start any earlier. He said if the time ran over, it would be alright.

To allow for a little extra time, the council then settled on starting the public meeting at 5:30 p.m. If all voices cannot be heard in the 90 minute time-frame the regular meeting may be delayed.

R.W. Garrett had also provided a spreadsheet to outline coverage and cost options for employees. City Clerk Peggy Bateman was asked to forward digital copies of that spreadsheet to the department heads. The department heads will then see to it that every staff member has a copy of the spreadsheet before hand.

The official announcement of the public meeting has been sent out with the agenda for the meeting attached. That notice is also posted in today’s edition of Lincoln Daily News.

[Nila Smith]