CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Thursday the Clearlake City Council will hold discussions on employee and council member health benefits.
The meeting will start at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
Under business, City Manager Joan Phillipe will ask for the council to approve continuing negotiations with city employee associations and proceed with a proposed change to health care benefits.
Currently, it costs $773,800 to provide comprehensive health care coverage to full-time employees and council members, with employees paying $113,000 out of payroll deductions, Phillipe reported. The city has 48 full-time staffers and council members currently eligible for coverage.
With costs going up dramatically in recent years – the 2012 rates are up 10 percent over those for 2011 – Phillipe is exploring a change in providers and coverage that could potentially result in a 23-percent annual savings for the city and reduce employee deductions by about $90 per month for family coverage, according to her report.
She said benefit provisions would be similar, but there would be different coverage and out-of-pocket costs, deductibles and co-pay differences. The anticipated annual savings for the city would be $176,000.
On Thursday the council also is set to take up a discussion held over from the Oct. 25 meeting about providing benefits to council members.
Phillipe’s report said that council members currently have the option for health care coverage, which this year is budgeted at $85,743.
She said during the 2012-13 budget workshops, former interim Finance Director Sandra Sato had recommended the council reconsider the benefit due to limited resources, a suggestion which had followed a similar one made by the Lake County Grand Jury several years ago.
Councilmember Judy Thein, who is retiring at year’s end, had asked for the discussion to come forward.
Phillipe noted in her report, “It is my understanding that Councilmember Thein is not necessarily seeking council action at this time but rather to open the discussion for possible consideration by the newly comprised council following the seating of its new members in December and prior to the mid-year budget review.”
The council also will discuss a new comprehensive and consistent code enforcement ordinance, hold a second reading of an ordinance regulating taxi cabs and other for-hire vehicles, and consider an agreement with the county of Lake to provide funding for the renovation and operation of a visitor information center at 14295 Lakeshore Drive.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
