1-3-05 Special Meeting

THE VILLAGE OF HAWTHORN WOODS

SPECIAL VILLAGE BOARD MEETING AGENDA

JANUARY 3, 2005

7:30 P.= M.

I.&= nbsp;           &nb= sp;       Call To Order And Roll Call

II.=             &n= bsp;    Consideration Of An Annexation And Developm= ent Agreement – G= eorge H. White= III

III.            &= nbsp; Executive Session

IV.        =       Adjournm= ent

=

THE VILLAGE OF HAWTHORN WOODS

SPECIAL VILLAGE BOARD MEETING MINUTES

NOVEMBER 23, 2004

7:30 P.M.

I.&= nbsp;           &nb= sp;       Call To Order And Roll Call

T= he Special Village Board meeting was called to order by President Hunt at 7:42 p.m. in the Village Hall, 2 Lagoon Drive.

Roll Call indicated the following members were present: President Hunt, Trustees Weick, G= ehrke, Silvers and Wright. Trustees= Lynch and Riess were absent.

Also present was Administrator Benford= and Assistant Administrator Lobaito.

=

II.          &n= bsp;      G= roup Health Insurance

President Hunt explained the purpose of tonight’s meeting was = to discuss the proposal by Emerald Insurance Services, Inc. to provide the Vi= llage’s group health insurance.

Trustee Silvers asked when our current contract with Central Managem= ent Services expires. Assistant Administrator Lobaito responded that it ends on July 31, 2005, however, the Village can be released from the contract with 60 days written notice.

Trustee Silvers asked if Cigna, our current PPO provider had a chanc= e to re-bid. Mike Corrigan, Emera= ld Insurance Services, responded that Cigna is a part of Central Management Services state fund and that the Village of Hawthorn Woods has too few employees for them to quote separately.&n= bsp;

Trustee Silvers asked if the Village looked into self-insurance. Mr. Corrigan responded that with = only 25 employees, that would not be a viable option, because the risk would be too high to be self-insured.

Trustees Wright and Weick asked President Hunt what the urgency was = with changing insurance carriers at this point. They indicated that they have not had enough time to study all the information. President Hunt responded that he does not want to take up a lot of time discussing health insurance at the December Board Meeting.&= nbsp; He further commented that the quotes are only good for a period of = time.

Trustee Weick asked how the search for new health insurance came about. President Hunt respon= ded that Emerald Insurance Services approached the Village about providing a quote. President Hunt stated= that in the past, the employees have asked for better compensation and benefits. In a past survey o= f employees, compensation was ranked as most important by employees and benefits was ra= nked second.

Trustee Weick responded that the employees seem happy with the curre= nt health insurance and that there may be other benefits that they would like= such as more vacation time. Presi= dent Hunt stated that the Village should always look for better insurance that = we can afford. He also stated t= hat the Village could not afford to offer more vacation time.

Trustee Wright asked if staff knew how many employees would switch t= o PPO from HMO if the Village paid for PPO coverage. Assistant Administrator Lobaito r= esponded no, but she stated that some would probably want to stay with the HMO beca= use there are no deductibles.

Trustee Gehrke felt the proposal would be good for the employees and would enhance the benefit package being offered.

Trustee Silvers responded that this issue was discussed by the Finan= ce Committee and after much discussion, the committee voted to remain with Ce= ntral Management Services. They we= re opposed to the Village paying for PPO coverage. Trustee Silvers asked if the heal= th insurance proposal were to go through, would there be no salary increases = this next year. President Hunt re= sponded that there would still be salary increases, however, they would probably n= ot be any higher than cost of living adjustments.

Trustee Silvers asked to see an updated comparison of what other Vil= lage’s offer their employees in order for him to make a decision. He further stated that the Village should have competitive quotes. President Hunt stated that that’s what Emerald Insurance Serv= ices does – shop around to provide the Village with the best quote. Trustee Silvers responded he woul= d like the Village to look at other agencies too.

Trustee Gehrke suggested that the employees share in the cost of PPO coverage. He offered the fol= lowing proposal for employee cost: Employee only - $25 p= er month, employee + 1 (spouse or child) - $50 per month, family - $75 per month. He figured this would= offset the additional PPO cost by $12,500 to $13,000 annually. Trustee Silvers commented that so= me employees may want to stay with the HMO to avoid deductibles.

A motion was made by Trustee Gehrke to approve the Village paying fo= r PPO coverage for all employees, with an employee cost share as outlined above = and to have staff review these portions paid by the employees. Seconded by Trustee Silvers.=

Trustee Weick commented that she did not believe employees would wan= t to pay more for health insurance. Trustee Silvers stated that he would prefer competitive bidding and would like to see a profile of surrounding communities. He further stated that he would n= ot be able to vote at this point until the Village knows exactly what it’s paying.

Staff was directed to contact surrounding communities to compare the= ir insurance program and employee co-pay.&nb= sp; President Hunt asked for this information by December 9, 2004 in or= der for the Village Board to review.

Trustee Gehrke withdrew his motion.=

On a motion by Trustee Gehrke and a second by Trustee Silvers, the Special Meeting of the Village Board adjourned to Executive Session at 9:18 p.m.

The Special Meeting reconvened at 9:29 p.m.

On a motion by Trustee Gehrke and a second by Trustee Silvers, the Special Meeting of the Village Board adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

______________________________________

Donna L. Lobaito, Assistant Village Administrator<= /p>