09-08-99 Council Workshop Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 8, 1999 and indicated that Low Income Housing Aid was implemented to mitigate the effects of the class rate changes as they relate to this housing. The Council reviewed the option of reallocating a greater percentage of the Deputy Clerk's salary to the Cable TV Fund to more accurately reflect the amount of time spent on cable-related matters. They also reviewed the increase in the Cable TV administration fee as proposed by the City Administrator and agreed with implementation of both these options. The Council reviewed other options relative to the Bud~et as outlined on page 3 of the Budget document. The Council was agreeable to the addition of an additional part-time fire inspector that will increase expenses by $4,600 to $5,000. Council discussed the proposed increase in the amount of money the City contributes toward employee health insurance from $360 per month to $386. This recommendation is based on the avera~e of what other cities are paying toward employee health insurance costs. Fahey asked if other cities had an 80/20 split of health insurance costs or some mandated percentage which employee's are required to pay. The Administrator replied that the information he reviewed did not present the information in that manner, but suggested that he would review it to determine if such a comparison could be made. The Parks & Recreation Director pointed out that while the proposal is to increase the City's cap, the cost to employees has increased in the form of reduced coverages and/or increased co-pays and out-of-pocket payments re~uired from employees. The employees have decreased coverage plans in an attempC Co live within the cap established by the City. The City Administrator indicated that while the City employees have a very good health plan, plans have been changed approximately three times in the past five years in order to obtain the best rates possible. Fahey stated that he would like to see some comparison on the basis he mentioned. The Administrator pointed out his recommendation to increase the stipend paid to Commission members from $10 per month to $20. He noted that this stipend has not been increased in over 10 years. The Council next reviewed the recommendation that tuition assistance by increased by $1,000 in order to budget so that employees who take advantage of this program could attend one class per semester per year.