CLINTON -- City employees will keep their current insurance coverage and retirement benefits for at least six more months.
At that time, the council will re-evaluate the status of the city budget for fiscal year 2010-11 before taking action.
The council held a public hearing this week to discuss the possibility of restricting use of city vehicles, requiring employees to contribute to a 401(k) in order to receive an employer contribution and requiring employees to pay a portion of their health care insurance increase.
However, the council voted 4-1 to approve a balanced $8.1 million tentative budget for 2010-11 that will maintain the current 7.05 percent 401(k) employer contribution without requiring city workers to match it. It also will not require employees to contribute monthly to their health benefits because of a health insurance increase.
Both are longtime practices that have been part of the city's fiscal plan.
"We are going to stay with what we have right now," said Councilman David Pearson.
But six months into the new fiscal year, the council will re-evaluate its budget and make amendments if needed, Pearson said.
The final budget hearing will be at 7 p.m. June 22 at City Hall, 2267 N. 1500 West.
Two elected leaders who expressed a desire to have city employees monetarily participate in their health benefits were Mayor Mitch Adams and Councilwoman Cheri Reed.
Adams proposed that employees pay a portion of their health insurance, that use of city vehicles be restricted and restrictions be put on 401(k) contributions.
The proposed out-of-pocket cost for insurance for a family would be $51 per month, Adams said.
When he took office, he said, he knew the city had very good benefits and thought there would be a time when that coverage would have to change.
Reed, who cast the council's lone dissenting vote, said she opposed the tentative budget because it included the city subsidizing employees' health benefits at 100 percent.
The council can't expect residents to suffer service cuts in exchange for providing 100 percent health insurance benefits to its employees, said Reed, who favors employees paying a portion of their insurance costs.
"One thing I'm against is cutting services to the residents," she said, adding she would also prefer a 401(k) participation that required an employee contribution.
City Manager Dennis Cluff said the city is obviously working with a very tight budget.
The city this fiscal year was facing a $162,000 shortfall in a capital construction fund because of cost overruns in the $22 million construction of the new city offices, he said.
To offset the shortfall, the city will borrow existing funds from an old housing development grant fund to balance all funds in the current fiscal year budget, Cluff said.
He said the city will then repay the old grant funds using revenue as it becomes available from such things as impact and building permit fees.
Standard-Examiner reporter Bryon Saxton contributed to this article.
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