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February 7, 2006

Benefits for your council

Should City Council members be eligible for city employee health insurance? Apparently quite a few people don't think so and told the council as much at last night's meeting. For whatever reasons the story didn't make the Web site, so I'll post it below the jump.

It's an interesting question. The overall cost is minimal when you're talking about a city with a $91 million operating budget. If all the council members chose to opt in, it would cost the city about $40,000. Yet that's $40,000 of taxpayer money that could presumably go to other things, right? The decision last month to extend benefits to council members also follows attempts last year by the city to reduce its employee health care costs.

Only two council members -- Chris Whitley and Ron Wilkins -- are interested in signing up, so the cost goes down even further. Whitley says he'll pay all of the $368 a month cost himself. Wilkins, who says he hasn't had health insurance since the '90s, can't afford that cost, which amounts to $4,416 a year.

So what's the right answer? Is that a benefit that should be extended to council members in consideration of the work they put in, or is it something that should be reserved for full time employees?

Council defends vote on benefits

By Kory Dodd
Staff Writer

HIGH POINT - The City Council spent much of its meeting Monday defending its decision to allow members to join the city
health plan.

Last month, the council voted 7-2 to give its members the option of joining the city health insurance plan at the same rate
as employees. Mayor Becky Smothers and Councilman Latimer Alexander voted against the proposal.

"It's inexcusable, I think, that the first act of the new year was a selfish act," Gregory Shepherd, a High Point resident, said
during the public comment portion of the council meeting.
Shepherd said the council has "opened a benefit door" that could lead it to vote for the city to pay pensions or other benefits.

David Rudin said the city has already considered cutting health benefits for its own employees. "It just doesn't seem right.
It just doesn't seem fair."

Councilman Michael Pugh said the cost to the city would be minimal because only two council members - Ron Wilkins
and Chris Whitley - have chosen to join the plan.

He said Whitley has agreed to cover his health plan costs but Wilkins cannot afford to do so.

"Mr. Wilkins is in need of health care," Pugh said. "Mr. Wilkins has (health) issues that need to be addressed."

Wilkins said he hasn't had health insurance since the 1990s and cannot afford the full cost of $368 a month.

During the public comment period, Alexander stepped down from the council dais to voice his concerns about the health insurance vote.

"The question I struggle with now is how some council members can entertain thoughts of cutting benefits to our full- time employees, our retirees and their families and vote to award themselves subsidized health care benefits," Alexander said before reading meeting excerpts in which those cuts were discussed.

"While the desire to help out fellow council members who need more affordable access to quality health care is a noble act, we must remember our decisions last forever," Alexander added. "I believe we will soon see full councils take advantage of these benefits."

Alexander said the cost of covering the entire council this year would be about $40,000 and could increase in the future.

Pugh said the council could review the issue when Wilkins no longer was an elected official.

The council also addressed concerns from residents about an incident Jan. 26 during which police shot and killed a dog named Tiger in its backyard while pursuing a suspected car thief.

By law, the police have the right to shoot a dog they believe is threatening.

Since the incident, Steve Dudash and several other High Point citizens formed Justice for Tiger, a group devoted to changing the city's policy dealing with aggressive animals.

Dudash said High Point police Chief Jim Fealy has agreed to meet with the group to discuss possible changes.

In other action, the council unanimously voted to allow High Point police to apply for a $215,965 federal grant.

The grant would be split between the Guilford County Sheriff's Office and High Point and Greensboro police.

Fealy said the High Point Police Department intends to use its part of the grant - $48,716 - to buy a specialized system for lifting latent fingerprints on large weapons and a NarTest drug-testing machine.

Contact Kory Dodd at 883-4422, Ext. 241, or kdodd@news-record.com

Posted by Jonathan Jones at February 7, 2006 10:56 AM