Minutes of the Meeting of the Wage & Personnel Committee Held
On Tuesday, January 12, 2016 Pursuant to Notice Duly Given
- Meeting called to order by Chairperson Resch at 5:00 p.m.
- Roll Call: Mayor Bostedt, Darrell Anderson, Al Schreiber, Jean Feldt,Lauren Resch
Excused: Roger Reed
Also Present: Alderperson Le Breck, Attorney Lindsay Erickson, Interim Fire Chief John Reed, Sara Perrizo, Administrator and as Recording Secretary and other interested parties
- Approval of Agenda
Moved by Feldt, seconded bySchreiber to approve the agenda as presented.M/C
- Approval of Minutes from 01/05/16meeting
Moved by Anderson, seconded by Feldt to approve the minutes as typed.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.4 ayes
- Public Input/Comments
Perrizo stated that the forms 1094 and 1095-C’s have been completed. This is a new requirement under the Affordable Care Act. The City qualified for a safe harbor provision in 2015, which means that penalties will not be assessed for not offering coverage to employees who worked between 30 and 40 hours per week. All employees who had health insurance coverage will also receive form 1095-B from the insurance company.
- Discussion/Action/Recommendation on the Following:
- City Attorney Position
Lindsay Erickson stated that she is very interested in this position if it would be on a permanent basis. One small issue that she has is her health insurance. She was able to get a subsidy of approximately $800 per month through Obamacare to offset a portion of her insurance premiums. She will lose that subsidy if she were to become the City Attorney and would then have to pay $1,000 per month for coverage. Erickson understands that this position was an employee position (instead of contract) in the past and asked whether that would be feasible again. Schreiber said that former City Attorney Mraz was an employee, but he had no benefits. Also, his salary was only between $10,000 and $12,000 per year.
Erickson stated that she’s not saying that she won’t accept the position if she is unable to have insurance benefits, but she would like to figure something out. The way she sees it, there are three options: do nothing, change the position to an employee with only health insurance as a benefit, or adjust the salary to help with the cost of insurance. Anderson asked if Erickson has approached the City of Crandon about the possibility of getting benefits through them. Erickson replied that she has and she does have dental insurance through them, but does not work enough hours there to qualify for health insurance. She is an employee there. Erickson asked if there could be some sort of compromise, such as increasing the salary by $500 per month to split the cost of the insurance. Mayor Bostedt is happy that Erickson is considering taking this position. Everyone was happy with the work that she did while she was here in the past. However, the salary for the City Attorney was increased just a few years ago and we absolutely don’t have the money here to pay for the attorney’s health insurance or do anything besides what we have already been paying. Erickson totally understands, but also has to be honest about where she is at and felt that she at least needed to ask about the insurance. Feldt commented that we are as tight as we can be regarding the budget.
Perrizo asked if anyone would have a problem with Erickson joining the City’s insurance plan as long as Erickson paid the full premium amount. The consensus of the Committee was that Perrizo could look into the feasibility of this and report back. Mayor Bostedt commented that, if this were to happen, she would like an agreement in writing regarding the terms. Anderson stated that we have to be careful with the State regarding how many benefits someone can receive before they are considered an employee. Perrizo will include this in her research.
Moved by Feldt, seconded by Schreiber to recommend the appointment of Lindsay Erickson as City Attorney effective February 1, 2016 at a salary of $30,000 per year.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.4 ayes
- Updates to City FMLA Leave Policy
Perrizo explained that under the current policy, employees are required to substitute a portion of their earned vacation time while on Family Medical Leave (FMLA), but the policy does not require the use of any sick time. Perrizo is recommending that the policy be changed to state that employees are required to use accrued sick time while on FMLA leave until sick time is exhausted. At that time, the employee would have the option of using accrued vacation or comp time. Perrizo stated that sick time can be expensive for the City, as it carries over from year to year and is paid out upon employee retirement.
Dean Reed, 1616 Park Avenue, asked if this policy change has to be read at two meetings. Perrizo explained that only ordinance changes fall under that requirement and also, the Council generally will adopt ordinances under “suspension of the rules”, which allows immediate adoption.
Moved by Feldt, seconded by Anderson to approve the recommended updates to the City FMLA Leave Policy.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.4 ayes
- Moved byFeldt, seconded bySchreiberto adjourn at 5:27p.m.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.4ayes
Respectfully Submitted:
Sara J. Perrizo, CPA
Administrator