City Workers’ Health Costs Jump

By Marty Roney, Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.

Oct. 12–PRATTVILLE — A lean year ahead: That’s what Prattville Mayor Jim Byard is saying of the upcoming fiscal year. The city is scrambling to come up with ways to pay for a $506,000 increase in health insurance costs for employees.

Health insurance coverage will cost the city about $2.2 million next year, or about 10 percent of the proposed $21.5 million budget. The increase meant a hike of about 26 percent in the costs as compared to last year’s budget.

The City Council discussed the budget during a work session Tuesday night. It could act on the spending plan during next Tuesday’s regularly scheduled council meeting.

“This is a very tight budget, but I feel it’s a workable budget,” Byard said. “We still maintain the premiere services our citizens have come to expect. But it’s also a real world budget, a world where gas is $3 a gallon and health costs are skyrocketing.”

The city’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The budget process was delayed due to a to shift in resources to help Hurricane Katrina evacuees who fled to Prattville.

To help offset the costs of insurance premiums, employees will be paying more. Those on single coverage previously were not charged premiums, but they now will pay $20 a month. Family coverage will go from $200 a month to $240, according to the proposed budget.

The new budget plan means employees will pay about $518,000 of the premium costs. With the increases, the city will pay $385 monthly for single coverage and either $577 or $718 a month for the family coverage.

“I wouldn’t complain about those increases in insurance. We’re paying almost $400 a month for family coverage where my husband works,” said Billie Nabors of Prattville. “I don’t know what we’re going to do. It seems like our premiums go up every year or two. But you can’t do without insurance, one visit to the emergency room will prove that.”

On the plus side, revenue, especially sales tax, has increased, Byard said. The economy in Prattville hasn’t shown any signs of sputtering, he said.

—–

To see more of the Montgomery Advertiser, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.