Council seeks agreement on health-care cost reduction settlement with ex-CFO

The City Council is grappling with a plan to cut employee health -care costs by $500,000, a reduction the council already approved as part of the 2010 budget that took effect Oct. 1.

The administration proposes saving the money by increasing employee contributions for health care. Council members rejected the plan Tuesday by a 5-2 vote. Council President Ricky Dombrowski and Councilwoman Libby Milner Roland were the only ones to support the plan.

Under the plan, the administration estimates employees would see an average increase of $80 per month for health insurance coverage. Currently, a city employee pays $16.50 a month for an employee-only health plan, while the city contributes $451 monthly, Councilman R.Lee Flowers said. Under the new proposal, the employee contribution would increase to $85.53, with the city paying $390.

Employees would keep the same coverage at those rates. However, two other options would allow employees to save money by paying a higher deductible or accepting less coverage. The city offers a free health clinic for some medical needs and also a wellness program, both geared to reduce health-care costs.

The city expects to spend almost $6.3 million this year on employee health care, even with the higher employee contributions. Health care costs were $5 million in 2008.