With concerns about exorbitant increases for health insurance in the rear-view mirror, Iola City Council members agreed to reinstate regularly scheduled pay raises for its employees for the upcoming fiscal year.
Council members approved the merit and longevity raises Monday, after both had been eliminated over the summer while the Council hammered out the citys 2020 budget.
The concern then was a projected health insurance premium increase of 30 percent or more or about $137,000 over what had been budgeted. That prediction failed to materialize, however, after the Council moved the city from a self-insured plan to fully insured through Blue Cross Blue Shield.
The subsequent $93,000 in savings from what had been budgeted offered some financial flexibility, Council members agreed.
What we decided was we were going to hold off to see what happened with insurance, Councilwoman Nancy Ford said. Now, weve seen We have the money to reinstate both of those items without any real hardship to the city. To me, its really important we keep our employees happy, keep morale up.
Reinstating merit raises given at an employees anniversary date, provided the worker meets certain employer evaluation standards is expected to cost about $48,000. Longevity raises, given to employees who have been with the city 10 years or longer, will cost an additional $39,000.
Council members voted, 7-1, for the pay hikes, with Mark Peters opposed.
We made a decision to find some cuts in the budget, Peters said, and just a couple months later, were giving it all back.
Additionally, Council members approved a 1.6 percent cost-of-living pay raise for all employees. The COLA adjustments mirror the rate established by the Consumer Price Index for Social Security recipients in 2020. The COLA increases were kept in the original budget, although City Administrator Sid Fleming noted they come in under what had been budgeted (2.5 percent), a savings of about $48,000.
AS FOR the insurance premiums, Council members voted, 6-2, to begin charging those enrolled in the employee-only coverage plans $22.04 a month for their monthly premiums. The $22 equates to 5 percent of the citys cost of $440.86, the maximum allowed for the city to retain its grandfathered status with insurance regulators.
Councilman Aaron Franklin, one of those who voted in favor of charging for the single-only employee contributions, noted those enrolled with family plans pay $250 a month.
Its a fair thing to do, Councilman Ron Ballard agreed.
Ford and Councilman Gene Myrick were opposed.
Myrick expressed concern that employees lower on the pay scale would wind up paying more for single-only plans than they would receive in pay increases.
Human resources officer Carla Brown said she was uncertain if any such employees would be adversely affected.
CITY WAGES will remain on the Councils front-burner in the near future.
Council members spoke with Electric Distribution Superintendent Jim Baker and others Monday about how much the citys electric linemen received.
