SEBASTIAN — When Sebastian Mayor Richard Gillmor said he’d “like a discussion” about the possibility of employee benefits for City Council members – he got it.
Turns out there are some pretty strong opinions on both sides of the issue, ranging from “It’s about time!” to “It’s just wrong!”
Gillmor noted that Fellsmere, Vero Beach, Indian River County and St. Lucie County offer their elected governing boards access to health insurance.
“You don’t do this for the money but, when you have a 300-400-page docket to go through, from my viewpoint, it’s not part-time. It’s fulltime for me. I think (a discussion) is worthwhile – if it doesn’t raise taxes.”
Gillmor said he himself would not take advantage of such a benefit, however, because he is on Medicare.
Jim Hill agreed, saying he had discussed the issue with City Manager Joe Griffin and, with the Affordable Healthcare Act mandatory insurance requirement, “I think it’s high time to consider it. It makes sense if it doesn’t affect the budget much. It’s no different than our cell phones or our travel allowance. The job’s not fulltime but we put in lots of time.”
He noted that most municipalities offer health insurance to their council members.
Andrea Coy was opposed.
“I think it’s just wrong! I say a strong no! It’s a part-time job. We get $300-a-month salary and a $300-a-month expense account. It makes no sense. I don’t think we should get the cell phones either! Absolutely no!”
Hill pushed back, commenting that it’s easy to oppose the idea if you already have health insurance coverage.
Coy is retired from the military.
“It’s a little bit funny, a little bit sad, to say no – completely – without seeing the figures,” Hill said.
Vice-Mayor Jerome Adams said that, since a Council position isn’t fulltime, it doesn’t require the same benefits as a fulltime position would, but that “it’s touch-and-go for me and [such benefits] could help attract qualified people. We should see how the numbers work out.”
Adams would also seek public input.
Bob McPartlan agreed the subject was worthy of further discussion and posed the question: in every budget season, healthcare, the high-risk pool and the fact that a few employees’ health issues typically cause the increase in the city’s healthcare costs comes up – “What if it was someone up here causing that?” he wondered.
Nevertheless, he favored the idea if it did not impact the taxpayers.
Coy remained adamant.
“We don’t sit up here for perks!” she said.
Griffin stated that a 15-percent increase was built into the proposed budget to cover healthcare, as it was last fiscal year. He will provide more information at a coming Council meeting.
