2009-05-04 City Council Study Session

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MINUTES OF UNIVERSITY CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION May 04, 2009 The Council Study Session, held on the Fifth Floor of the City Hall, on Monday, May 04, 2009, was called to order by Mayor Adams at 5:30 p.m. In addition to Mayor Adams, the following members of the Council were present: Mr. Michael Glickert Mr. Arthur Sharpe, Jr. Mr. Terry Crow Mr. Robert Wagner Ms. Lynn Ricci Mr. Byron Price Also present were the City Manager Julie Feier, Deputy City Manger Janet Watson and City Attorney John Mulligan. rd The study session was to review and discuss the upcoming agenda, the 3 Quarter Financial Report, Budget Transfers and its amendment, and progress on health insurance coverage for City employees. Ms. Watson went through the budget transfers and their reason. Next she covered the FY 09 Revenue and Expenditure Report for the third quarter. Revenue was down for the following areas: Sales & Use Tax, Intergovernmental, Licenses, Inspection Fees, and Miscellaneous. Overall expenditures were down by 7.8 percent. Ms. Ricci noted that financial information given to Council as Quarterly Reports are not consistent. Ms. Watson explained where the City was at in their dealings with health insurance coverage for employees. She stated that after two years of flat increases, GHP raised their rate by 19.6 percent for the next fiscal year. The City had a 15 percent increase in the budget for health insurance. In order for GHP to fall within the 15 percent increase, they proposed having a $250 deductible and an increase in emergency room use to $100. In attempting to start a health insurance pool similar to SLAIT, the City was able to have only an eight percent increase but switch carriers to United Health Care. It was noted that the eight percent increase would also be experienced by the employees. The City Manager was asking the Council as to whether she should precede in the formation of a new coop health insurance pool with SLAIT. The Council asked who would be the contact person for this new pool. It was said Daniel and Henry would be the Executive Director and they would be the ones to solicit bids each year. The goal is to have more cities added each year giving more leverage in negotiations. By switching to United Health Care under SLAT, the City could realize a budget savings of $105,000 for next fiscal year.