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.WPCNR Common Council Chronicle Examiner. By John F. Bailey. May 28, 2010 UPDATED 5:04 P.M. E.D.T.: About 700 Union members and non-union retirees are in for a surprise July 1. They will be paying 15% of their health care benefits. And no one has told them.
WPNCR has learned that letters to retirees were mailed out today, Friday. Watch for them in your mailbox.
Retirees with Family Plans, who started working for the city before July 1, 1995, will pay 15% or $2,396 to continue their coverage beginning in 33 days, and Retirees with individual plans will pay $1,102, according City Chief of Staff, John Callahan Friday afternoon.
The Common Council did not tell the public about this when they quietly unanimously voted the measure enacting 15% payment of medical benefits by retired employees as part of the adoption of the budget Monday night. The city still has not advised retirees as of Friday about the big change.
The measure was said to worth $1 Million to the city, enabling the city to reduce the property tax hike to general property owners 6.85% from 9.5% previously.
John Callahan, City Chief of Staff, confirmed to WPCNR today that 700 retirees who joined the city before July 1,1995, would be required to pay the 15% even if they were members of a union.
Regardless of when they joined the city, all appointed and elected city officials, including former Mayors, Councilman, Commissioners, Managers, regardless of when they joined, would be paying 15% of their retiree health benefits, Callahan told WPCNR.
The city benefits office confirmed there would be an increase for the union personnel joining the city before July 1, 1995, independently Friday afternoon. In response to an inquiring union employee, the benefits office spokesperson said the union member would have to be paying for their medical benefits, but they did not know the amount yet.
Pending figures from the city which were not revealed in the back-up material Monday evening, the school district Empire Blue Cross plan in 2007-08—paid $16,336 for each member on a family plan, which would mean that a retiree on a family plan paying 15% would pay $2,450 (close to what Mr.Callahan said a retiree with a family plan would pay under the city plan approved.)
If each of the 700 persons were required to pay an average $1,500 that would amount to $1,050,000 – amount of the savings snared by this measure.
Councilman Dennis Power told WPCNR Friday afternoon that the council was aware that approximately 700 persons were affected. Asked if the council knew the financial affects on these persons, Power said the council was shown the figures. Asked if former elected officials and appointed officials such as retired Councilpersons. Commissioners,managers and even Mayors were included, Power said it was his understanding that they were.
Councilman David Buchwald, speaking to WPCNR said the council was shown the figures, but said he was not aware of how many retirees were affected by each level of the plan and what they had to pay. Asked if former higher paid employees such as Commissioners, Mayors and managers could achieve a windfall by accepting a buyout, Buchwald said the council slashed the buyout provision by 50% to prevent that from being taken advantage of by persons with more means than retired line workers.
The enabling legislation was enacted Monday evening at the Common Council Budget Approval. In the back-up material the legislation reads thusly. There was no explanation of the effects of the program or on individual retirees during the Budget Meeting Monday evening. The backup material only provided percentages retirees would have to pay, not amounts.
