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Council Drops 274 Percent Pay Raises; Votes To Reimburse Health Insurance
November 17, 2009
The Century Town Council has decided against a 274 percent raise for council members, opting instead to reimburse two of the five council members for their health insurance.
Monday night, the council was to consider an ordinance that would have increased each council member’s salary by $491 per month, a 274 percent increase from their current $250 per month pay. The increase, according to a motion made in September by Councilman Gary Riley, would have allowed each council member to pay for their own health insurance after the town decided to drop coverage for the council.
The town’s health insurance costs about $500 per month for each employee’s coverage, except for the council. With the addition of the council, premiums would have jumped to $670 per employee if the council were included in the insurance pool — an extra $5,800 per month for the council to have insurance.
Two council members — Ann Brooks and Nadine McCaw — had been covered by the town’s insurance policy. The council voted 3-2 recently not to continue the insurance for Brooks and McCaw, who voted against the motion.
The solution considered by the council at the time was the pay increase of $491 per month for each council member. They $491 was the chosen figure because Brooks had received a health insurance quote of that amount.
“We need to get away from these big raises if we are going to be good stewards,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall said at Monday night’s council meeting. “If we go the way we are going…we get a 274 percent increase, and we’ll get hung for it.” The mayor would also have received a $491 increase to his current $750 per month salary.
McCall suggested a motion to the council that would reimburse McCaw and Brooks up to $500 per month for health insurance for the remainder of their current terms on the council.
“If they are reelected, they would come back on staff with the understanding that hey did not have benefits,” the mayor said.
On a motion from McCaw and a second from Riley, the council voted 4-1 to provide the health insurance reimbursement of up to $500 per month for McCaw and Brooks. Councilman Henry Hawkins voted against the plan.
Pictured top: Century Town Council member Nadine McCaw (left) listens as Council President Ann Brooks reads a motion to reimburse both health insurance premiums for both council members. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
3 Responses to “Council Drops 274 Percent Pay Raises; Votes To Reimburse Health Insurance”
Absolutely, let’s wait on the government to once again bail us out! After all, look how well it worked for our lending institutions and auto makers. If you believe the government will make health care more affordable, I have a couple nice bridges for you to buy.
The amount of $500/month seems very high to me for a part-time position. Certainly the city is not paying $500/employee and the vast number of those are full-time. Can someone who is insurance savy blog in on this topic. Is there a legal precedent to provide full coverage for part-time employees?
They should have just waited on the health care reform bill to pass instead of funneling more money into insurance.