6.2. ERMUSR 11-15-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Benefits Insurance, vacation, holidays, and other benefds also aze part of the complete compensation package. It was discussed in the Committee meeting that E1tMiJ has an excellent health insurance plan with a generous employer contribution. One of the other similar municipal utilities in the survey does have the exact same health insurance plan with a similar employer contribution; the others have HSAs or high deductible insurance plans. In 2010, staff conducted an extensive analysis of the metro-average survey utilities' of their benefits which including health insurance. This analysis was reviewed by the committee. For 2012, ERMU's health insurance plan renewal will recognize a 9.5% decrease in rates, or an approximate overall savings of $50,000. The Dental, Long Term Disability (LTD), and Life Insurance were also discussed because ERMLJ received notice of the substantial increase in the renewal rates approximating an overall increase of $10,000. An effort in negotiating these increases downward by our insurance broker was unsuccessful. We are currently out for bids on these insurance items. At the October Commission meeting, a presentation on Long Term Care was made. This insurance option was further discussed at the Committee meeting. Specific pricing was not yet made available and thus this topic needed further review. Other There were a number of items brought to the committee by the employees for committee consideration. There were also additional items identified for research by the committee. Some of these items were: Employees requested the Committee look into uniform laundry services. Preliminary numbers indicated there may be savings to the Utilities through a laundry service with uniform rental. There may be issues with the calorie ratings and uniform choices. The Committee is currently looking into the viability of this option. Employees also requested the Committee look into the On-Call Holiday Compensation, specifically, look at adding a compensatory day as compensation for being on-call over a holiday. This would be similaz to some other utilities. The Committee is currently reviewing this request. The Committee also discussed Utility rankings, budgeted margins, cost of turnover, the future of the metro-average survey, and potential 2012 purchase power increase. At the Commission request, additional detail from the Committee meeting discussion topics can be provided. The next scheduled meet for the Committee is November 30. At this meeting the Committee will review the data collected and decide on options to present to the Commission for a decision during the December Utilities Commission Meeting. ACTION REQUESTED: No Action is required at this time.