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. . . City Council Minutes November 13, 2000 Page 4 The Council recessed at 8:00 and moved to the training room. The Council reconvened at 8:05 P.M. 8.1. Consider Benefits Committee Insurance and Benefits Prooosal Lori Johnson introduced the benefit committee members. Lori reviewed the proposal for benefits that the benefit committee is recommending. She indicated that the committee is recommending a cafeteria plan because it benefits all employees, not just one group. She reviewed the components of the plan and the employee and city costs associated with the plan. Mark Thompson presented a proposal put together by Street Department employees that was different than the proposal presented by the Benefits Committee. The Council discussed the issue of the high costs for those with family coverage versus the single coverage costs. It was questioned whether it is fair to help only those with family coverage and not increase any benefit to those with single coverage. Also discussed was the possibility of an 80/20 coverage plan option for all employees since Medica would no offer a plan that allowed employees to choose between a co-pay plan and a deductible plan. The Council requested the Finance Director to get this information for council review. The Council discussed the cafeteria plan benefits. The council indicated that the "cash" option benefit was not something they wanted to include. Councilmember Dietz suggested increasing the city's contribution to family coverage to $600 and to offer the cafeteria plan to all employees with the exception of the cash benefits. He stated it was important to be fair to all employees. COUNCILMEMBER MOTIN MOVED TO APPROVE THE CAFETERIA PLAN AS PRESENTED BY THE COMMITTEE WITH TWO CHANGES: 1. THE FAMILY CONTRIBUTION INCREASE TO $600 PER MONTH 2. CASH AND DEFERRED COMPENSATION ARE NOT INCLUDED AS PART OF THE PLAN. AND THAT EXCESS BENEFITS BE ALLOWED TO BE USED FOR OPTIONAL BENEFITS AS LISTED WITH THE FUNDING FOR THIS PROPOSAL TO COME FROM THE GENERAL FUND BALANCE. COUNCILMEMBER FARBER SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Lori Johnson requested authorization to hire The Stanton Group as a consultant to assist in drafting plan documents and implementation of the benefits program for the City. COUNCILMEMBER FARBER MOVED TO HIRE THE STANTON GROUP IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,000 - $5.000 AS A CONSULTANT TO IMPLEMENT THE FLEX PLAN PROGRAM. COUNCILMEMBER DIETZ SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0.