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2016.06.03_TC_Minutes_Workshop TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH MINUTES OF TOWN COMMISSION MEETING WORKSHOP MEETING Friday,June 3, 2016 9:30 AM Mayor Bernard Featherman called the Workshop Meeting to order in the Town Commission Chambers at 9:30 AM. CALL TO ORDER: Roll Call: Members present: Mayor Bernard Featherman; Vice Mayor William Weitz, Ph.D; Commissioner Carl Feldman; Commissioner Louis P. Stern; and Commissioner Rhoda Zelniker. Also present: Town Manager Beverly Brown; Town Clerk Valerie Oakes; Finance Director Cale Curtis; and members of the public. Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was given, followed by a minute of silence. Civility Pledge: The Civility Pledge was recited by the Town Clerk. 1. ADDITIONS,DELETIONS OR ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA: Mayor Featherman called for any additions or deletions to the agenda, hearing none the agenda was accepted as presented. Commissioner Feldman had no additions or deletions to the agenda but requested to state the following: 1. I hope we all realize that last year we cut the taxes for the residents. 2. This year, going forward, it looks like we are going to have less spending than we did last year. 3. Whatever we do, we have to do in common sense. I hope that at this meeting we do not have any attacks on anybody making presentations. The presenters are only here to advise us. 4. Keep in mind that we are going to have almost $500,000 brought back to the Town from higher evaluations. We are in very good shape with our reserve funds. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS: No public comments/requests. 3. MISCELLANEOUS—ITEMS LEFT OVER: Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Friday,June 3.2016 Page 2 of 7 A) Discussion on Authorizing the Mayor to Execute Agreements for Employee Health Insurance FY 2016-2017 Vice Mayor Weitz read the Personnel Rules and Regulations, Article VI, Insurance, Section 1: Health and Life on Page 20, Paragraph 2 into the record as follows: "The Town will compensate, with monthly allowances through payroll, employees who have insurance coverage paid 100% by either a prior employer or a spouse's employer, provided proof of such coverage is provided, and those employees who choose to have single coverage. Those employees who choose to cover dependent children only will receive no allotment,but will be required to make no monthly payment. Those employees with either spouse/domestic partner coverage or family coverage will be required to make monthly payments through payroll deduction. The amount of such allowances or payroll deductions amount will be adjusted at the beginning of each fiscal year". Vice Mayor Weitz—That is what we have here today to decide. We are coming into a new fiscal year. What is the amount we suggest because, in the first paragraph, it details how the selections are to be made? The employees are given brochures describing the provisions of available insurance coverage. They make the decision; not Finance Director Curtis or the Commission. We set the rate that employees pay for any coverage other than single coverage. Vision and dental coverage are addendums and never offered as a part of any basic health package. The only decision we have to make today is how much they are going to pay. This is a business decision, a policy decision, and I am not anti-employee or trying to hurt any employee. We are not here to choose a plan. Our goal is to decide if we want to cap what we pay for employee's insurance, and whether we want to come up with a percentage or leave it as is. If we are currently paying for anyone's current vision or dental plan, that should be removed. It is not part of the regulations. Commission Feldman — The Vice Mayor made one important statement. Government is a business and the businesses that I ran were very profitable. That is where I drew my thinking on how I was going to conduct our business with our employees. Last year we were able to cut our taxes, which benefited all the residents. Our employee benefits have to be judged on their performance, the money that we spend and the money that we save. If we are saving money and we are making money because of the jobs people are doing, I feel we have to compensate them somehow. Retention is very important, and I think it would be very difficult to replace our employees. Health is the biggest thing we could look at. If they were getting benefits under health and we are talking about taking benefits away, how do you replace that in their pockets? How do we keep people motivated if they are doing their work and saving us money? We have to look into what we offer an employee to come here. If we get a few more dollars from individual employees, do we need it? I don't think we do right now because we are running successfully at this time. Everyone is doing something to make this program work. Commissioner Stern—Thank you Comm. Feldman because much of what you said comes from my heart. I have to agree with you that we are not fat and happy but we are comfortable. These employees are important to the well fare, to the Town and to us, and we represent them and the people. We have a deadline coming up July ls` where we must have insurance in place and that is stated by the government. If we don't, nobody can come to work July 2"d. We need to come to a compromise of what is fair to us and what is fair to the employee. The revised charts given to us by Finance Director Curtis makes it very clear that we ae going to offer a very basic plan. That plan is going to cover them and not cost them any money, and it will cost the same if they pick that plan. They can pick an upgraded plan because they want better coverage, and it still Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Friday,June 3.2016 Page 3 of 7 doesn't cost us. It will cost them. Finally, if they want to get the Cadillac plan, they go for it because they want to make the expenditure. Some employees are receiving a stipend in order to not use our insurance if the spouse has their own insurance. This costs the Town less than offering them the policy through the Town. We have to do what is right for us as a Commission doing the guidance, and do right for the employees because they are good employees. These people are dedicated and have been here for a number of years. Whatever change you offer today, I would like you to consider grandfathering the coverage that these people now have, and for any new hires that would be what is effective today. If you do not grandfather the package that they now have, you will lose my vote going forward. Commissioner Zelniker—Do we pay anything for dental and vision, or is it all on the employee? Finance Director Curtis — The Town pays the employee portion only for dental and vision. Comm. Zelniker—We have 35 employees, and this year we have $747,112. On average we are paying $21,000 per employee. This amount is on top of the good salaries and all the other benefits they receive. Your figures show dental and vision, and they should not have been included. What is the employee percentage for dependent coverage on dental and vision? Fin. Dir. Curtis—The employee pays 100% for dependent coverage. Comm. Zelniker—If you are an employee, you don't pay anything towards it. I don't think it is necessarily fair either. I don't understand the stipend. It is from 1950 when there was a boom in the economy. It says in the policy that the amount of such allowances or payroll deductions amount will be adjusted at the beginning of each fiscal year. I wanted the percentages of the health care cost and not including the dental and the vision. Ethically, I don't know if the employees should be selecting these plans. Maybe it should be part of the Commission's job. When I attended the Florida League of Cities, most of them indicated that they use Cigna, which is a very good plan. This is not a discussion about any employee. This is a business decision, and I feel a fair and reasonable percentage for the employees to contribute is a fair and reasonable thing to do. Nowhere in the policy does it state that the Town pays for dental and vision. Fin. Dir. Curtis — In the past the Commission has offered the vision and dental as part of the employment package. Comm. Zelniker — If the Commission decides they want to pay for dental and vision, then it has to be part of the policy. Vice Mayor Weitz—No one said we don't have good employees, and no one said anyone should be fired. The employees certainly do a good job, and they deserve the compensations they get as they earn them. Job performances are related to salary increases, not health benefit increases. With health care costs rising 10 to 15% a year, I am totally objecting to this Town absorbing the health care cost for every employee when we are already giving a 3% salary increase and have given more in the past. There are other ways of compensating employees for good job performance. If an employee saves the Town money and does an exceptional job, there is a provision for paying bonuses to those employees. Every year we set policies for health care. This is not a matter of grandfathering because it changes every year. Health care never includes vision and dental. There is nothing in the rules and regulations that talks about vision and dental. Just because it was done in the past does not mean we can do it now. Commission Feldman—The total insurance bill is $747,000. If every employee paid 20% more, it will save us $150,000. We have to take into consideration what the employees are implementing in their jobs to bring the budget down. A municipality runs different than a corporation. We give dividends to the stockholders in the way of lowering their taxes. We are building a better town in general. As far as vision and dental goes, it is not that much for the Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Friday,June 3,2016 Page 4 of 7 employees. We have 14 single employees. This does not equate to that much money. We have the income, and when we do the budget, we have to consider the cost versus the income. We are doing a very good job for both the employees and the residents. Comm. Stern — Everyone has valid points. I have to agree with Comm. Feldman. I don't see that we are spending a big amount of money when in fact it is a tiny percentage of our overall budget. If you look in our budget, dental and vision is included. With the insurance package that was presented to us, I think we will save $80,000 over what we spent last year. That is a great number, and these employees will not suffer. I am satisfied with what was presented to us. Mayor Featherman — I have checked out a total of 10 comparisons, and I will read my findings into the record. This was done on my time and at my own expense. I agree with everyone on what they said. We have good employees here, and I would like to see us compromise on something for the good of our Town and our employees. Vice Mayor Weitz — Stick to the rules that exist. The issue for me is fairness and equitability. The employees get in health care almost as much as they make in salary. The employees should pay a legitimate equitable portion of their health care costs. My position is very clear. I am simply asking for some reasonable determination about employees paying a legitimate percentage of health care costs as stated by the regulations, and that does not currently include vision and dental. Commissioner Feldman—If we charge employees more money for insurance, what are we going to do with the money? Are we going to cut the taxes? Are we going to spend more? This is an investment in part of the Town, what we are giving as a benefit. Our millage rate is one of the lowest in all of the surrounding towns. It isn't the five people sitting here that is able to do it. It is the 35 people sitting out there that are doing it. If the rules have no provision for dental and vision, perhaps that has to be changed. The percentage for dental and vision is very small. Our employees are giving us great services and are very dedicated. I see no advantage in cutting back on benefits. Commissioner Stern — It is not the Commission's job to get the statistics the Mayor is talking about. It is the staffs job to get the numbers. You didn't tell us the results of your report. Are we in line; out of line; are the other cities better? Mayor Featherman will speak later on this. Comm. Zelniker—I think there should be a fair minor increase for dependents at this time. If we want to change policy, we have to do this at a policy meeting. What is the true percentage we are paying now without the dental and vision? Fin. Dir. Curtis—I do not have that figure in front of me. What I can tell you is that the employee cost of dental and vision is $40 a month. Comm. Zelniker—The employees are paying 24% of dependent care. I would like to see 25% across the board. We have to be fair to the residents and fair to the employees. If there are going to be any changes done, it has to be done in a policy meeting. Town Manager Brown — Something was said about a yearly increase. At one time we were given a cost of living raise. Whatever the percentage of the cost of living raise was, the increase in employee pay for dependent coverage was the same. We used to have an Insurance Committee, which was eliminated by the previous Town Manager, Dale Sugarman. The dental and vision was brought in when he was Town Manager, and it was added to the budget. It has Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Friday,June 3.2016 Page 5 of 7 been added to the budget every year, and when it was approved, it was just added to the budget and never to the rules and regulations. The performance bonus was taken out of the budget this last year. When we have our personnel meeting, I am submitting a suggestion for a policy, and you can either adopt it or not. Vice Mayor Weitz — I need Fin. Dir. Curtis to explain to me how he came up with that the employees are paying 20%, when based on last year's payroll records they are getting 50 to 75% of their salary in health care. It does not make sense. We are giving them almost double their salaries. Pull out vision and dental and concentrate on health care costs, and help me understand how the breakdown is. Fin. Dir. Curtis — The percentages are derived from dental and vision, which is a small part of that equation, and the other part is the fact that the Town pays the employee portion of health insurance 100%. We get the family coverage premium; back out the employee only coverage premium to get the dependent care cost. The employees contribute towards the dependent coverage care. With the family coverage, the employee contributes about $425 per month towards the dependent care. The dependent care is $1,630. That percentage equates to about 24% of the dependent care premium. Vice Mayor Weitz — When you look at the combined package, the question is whether they are paying their fair share of health costs. I can't approve any proposals we have before us because I don't think they are consistent with the rules we have before us, and we are not following any of our rules. Fin. Dir. Curtis —What we are doing in Highland Beach is not unique to Highland Beach. As the Mayor has provided us with information from other cities, the employer typically covers the employee 100%, and in some cases the employee pays 60 to 100% of dependent care. In response to one of the Vice Mayor's comments, neither of the proposals is a 10 to 15% increase to employee coverage or to the Town. Option 1 is a$10,000 increase for the year. Option 2 would save the Town anywhere from $78,000 to $90,000. We are not proposing an increase in benefits or an increase in cost in the benefits. The 10.5% is what the renewal was. We are not proposing to go with that renewal. Vice Mayor Weitz — In your proposal, you said based on project rates, so you included the 10.5%. Fin. Dir. Curtis — The savings are not the $156,000 from the renewal; that was a poor representation. The savings would be more in line with$80,000. Commissioner Feldman — If you look at other towns such as Hillsboro Beach, the town pays 100%. It is wrong to say that an employee who makes $30,000 gets $29,000 in benefits. We were given employee benefit health packages at the last meeting. It doesn't make any difference. It is what our Town wants to do. We need to come to some agreement. Since you are the tie breaking vote, do you want to say keep the benefits as they are, or have them pay more money. Mayor Featherman—I want to come to an agreement where we could compromise and be fair to the Town as well as the employees. Comm. Feldman — The only way to be fair is to continue what we are doing, because we have brought down the millage rate and the taxes and increased the services to the Town. Mayor Featherman—I have given you the information I received from other towns that are comparable to our Town. Comm. Feldman — You can't compare town to town. Some towns don't even pay their Commissioners or pay for when they go to meetings. We are very fortunate because we have a town that, within the budget, can pay our Commissioners and send the Commissioners to conferences. These conferences are a great benefit to the town because it is productive. If we want to include dental and vision in our basic plan, do we have to vote on it as part of a consent agenda. Town Manager Brown— Dental and vision are already in the budget that was presented to you last summer. We could take it out or include it in the personnel rules. Vice Mayor Weitz — It could have been budgeted, but I am saying that it is not an authorized expenditure based on the current rules and regulations that Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Friday,June 3.2016 Page 6 of 7 were revised in 2015. Comm. Feldman—How could we put dental and vision into the rules and regulations? Town Manager Brown — When we have the personnel rules and regulations meeting, we can do it then. Commissioner Stem—We need to come to an agreement today because, as of July l', our policy will no longer be in force, and our employees will not be insured and will not be allowed to come into Town Hall. Discussion ensued regarding the amount of percentage an employee should pay for dependent coverage and whether dental and vision should be included. Fin. Dir. Curtis explained the current health insurance plan, percentages and how a small group medical plan works in order to get lower rates. The renewal for dental and vision is in October. He also explained that they are not proposing an increase in the employment packages. One is the same, and the other is a reduction. Comm. Zelniker suggested a 1% increase and Comm. Feldman asked Fin. Dir. Curtis what I% would equate to. Fin. Dir. Curtis—There are two decisions to make today. One is what type of insurance program do we want to offer such as Option 1 that is strictly a PPO plan that the employees participate in, or Option 2, which is the menu of plans for the employees to participate in. The second is what percentage the employees would contribute towards dependent care. With Option 2, it is already a reduction in the overall cost to the Town. The employees will be paying more. Not out of payroll deduction, but when they go to the doctor and use their services, they will be paying more at a savings to the Town. Comm. Zelniker — Will the employees pick the plan that they would want? Fin. Dir. Curtis—That would be under Option 2. The Town would provide a base HMO Plan, and the employees would have the option to upgrade that plan to two different types of PPO plans. That option would save the Town $80,000. The decision today is strictly on the medical insurance and not the dental and vision. Commissioner Feldman — If we go ahead with the medical, what happens to the dental and vision. How does that fit into the program for the next four months? Fin. Dir. Curtis—They are separate policies. If the Commission, at their next personnel benefits review, decides to take the dental and vision away or require the employee to pay a portion of it, it will be up to the employee to decide whether they want to keep the plan or not. Comm. Feldman— How will the Town pay for it for the remaining months until we say yes or no? Comm. Stern — We are not rescinding it until the renewal date. We are already committed until October, and at that time it will be up to the employee if they wish to maintain it; unless we change the policies when we do policies in July. All we are trying to do today is go with Option 2, let the employees pick their plan and place it on our Consent Agenda and save $80,000 on the basic health plans. This item would be placed on the agenda of June 7, 2016 under Miscellaneous—Items Left Over for a vote. Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Friday,June 3,2016 Page 7 of 7 4. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Commission, Mayor Featherman called for a motion to adjourn the Workshop Meeting at 11:34 AM. MOTION: Commissioner Stern moved to adjourn the meeting at 11:35 AM. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Feldman, which passed unanimously. APPROVED: Bernard Featherman, Mayor L f" �i(/• W' i Weitz, ice Mayor Peld ommissioner '-==� jt:�: P. Stern, eommissioner -Rho a Zelniker,C �ssioner ATTEST: U61� Valerie Oakes,CMC,Town Clerk Date