PAXTON — The Paxton City Council met in adjourned session on Tuesday, Dec. 16, to approve a new employee health insurance contract.
Following a closed session, the eight aldermen present voted unanimously to approve a new one-year contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, effective Jan. 1, that will give city employees three coverage plans as options.
“Employees can look at the plans and figure out which one is best for them,” Alderman Mike Wilson, chairman of the council’s finance committee, said in an interview the next day.
From left, Aldermen Mike Wilson, Kirsten Larson, Rob Pacey, Matt Greenburg, Joe Reinhart, Deane Geiken and Eric Evans look on during the Paxton City Council’s October meeting at City Hall, 145 S. Market St.
Wilson said the new plans are similar to those offered under the city’s previous contract with Health Alliance, which is ceasing operations.
“We certainly wanted to be mindful of trying to keep it as close to what the current plan was,” Wilson said. “With increases in health care costs, though, we couldn’t make it exact, but we did the best we could.”
Wilson said the new contract comes with “about a 30% increase in cost to the city.”
“It’s a sign of the times, and it’s also a sign of just the fact that we have a small group (of employees) to begin with,” Wilson said. “I know we have a very small group, and, ultimately, the larger your group, the more it gets spread out — those costs.”
Wilson said the adjourned meeting lasted about 15 minutes.