Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

Home Browse Search

Mayor Piercy closed the meeting of the City Council and convened a meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency (URA). 2. PUBLIC HEARING: A Resolution of the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene Adopting the Budget, Making Appropriations, and Declaring the Amount of Tax to be Certified for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2010, and Ending June 30, 2011 Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. There being no requests to speak, she closed the public hearing. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting of the URA and convened the City Council. 3. PUBLIC HEAING: Resolution Adopting a Supplemental Budget; Making Appropriations for the City of Eugene for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2009, and Ending June 30, 2010 Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. John Barofsky , 2010 Hubbard Lane, expressed concern about a shift in the Risk and Benefits Fund budget that reduced the balance available in that fund by $1 million and increased the operating budget appropriation for the Central Services budget by a like amount to pay for a health insurance claim due to an adverse claims experience. He recalled a cost-cutting strategy put forth by staff for the fiscal year 2010 budget that reduced the estimate of risk claims expenses, which saved $473,000. However, he feared that the City had realized that savings at the cost of $1 million in higher claims. Mr. Barofsky was also concerned that the downtown Wellness Center, which had been a significant expenditure, did not seem to have reduced claims. There being no other requests to speak, Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing. Risk and Benefits Manager Myrnie Daut attributed the $1 million shift from the Balance Available to the Claims line item in the Employee Health Fund to some extraordinarily large claims; the City had the largest single claim it ever experienced, $600,000, as well as 11 smaller claims that exceeded $100,000. The City was self-insured for the first $150,000 for each claim but must pay the full amount of the claim and seek reimbursement from its stop-loss carrier. The City would be reimbursed for most of its large claims, but to ensure there was sufficient funding, staff submitted the supplemental budget request. That occurred before the resolution of the large claims, and did not reflect an overall increase in program costs. Mayor Piercy asked Ms. Daut to speak to the cost-effectiveness of the Wellness Center. Ms. Daut said more employees were using the fitness center who had not been regular exercisers before, and the center offered them an opportunity to meet their fitness goals. Mayor Piercy solicited council questions or comments. There were none. Mayor Piercy closed the meeting of the City Council and convened a meeting of the URA. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 21, 2010 Page 2 Public Hearing