Benefit survey rankles workers

SANDPOINT — The City Council is hoping for the best but bracing for the worst in the midst of the slumping economy and rising health care costs.

The council conducted a workshop session Wednesday to discuss a number of cost-cutting proposals, including amending city employee benefits and limiting business at City Hall to four days a week.

“No decisions have been made,” Mayor Gretchen Hellar said at the start of workshop, which drew a number of city workers with ideas — and deep concern — about the ways in which benefits might be trimmed or otherwise affected.

The workshop followed a benefit survey which went out to 87 employees, 69 of whom took part in the research.

The survey asked workers how increased participation in the city’s health insurance program should be handled, such as through increased premiums or increased deductibles. It also queried employees on the concept of shortening the work week for those who work outside of the police and fire departments, and adjusting comp, sick, emergency and personal time policies.

Of the 69 respondents, 38 said employee health care contributions should be tied to the number of family members who are covered, while 16 said all employees should be pay the same rate regardless of the size of their family. Ten more felt smokers, for instance, should pay more than their non-smoking counterparts.

Participants also used the survey to question why employees benefits and wages are being examined when there are ample opportunities to cut what they perceive to be flab out of the city’s budget. Respondents questioned why the city is spending $22,000 on its urban forestry program or offering benefits to elected officials who already have them through private-sector employment.

“Why are we just going for wages and benefits? Why are we attacking the employees?” Aaron Seck, a heavy equipment operator in Public Works, asked during the workshop.

Council members emphasized that the survey was intended to gauge perceptions among the workforce. Councilwoman Carrie Logan pointed out that some of the proposed changes could have been implemented when the city’s current spending plan was enacted.

“Out of respect to you guys, we decided not to go forward with any changes,” she said.

Although no cuts on capital improvement projects were discussed during the meeting, Hellar said they will be closely scrutinized during the coming budget workshop season to see where the belt can be tightened.

Some workers at the workshop asked city officials to schedule budget workshops outside of normal business hours so they could participate in the discussions.

Logan, along with council members Michael Boge, Helen Newton and John Reuter, agreed that emergency leave should either be eliminated or restructured. But there was division on the four-day work week proposal, which some were open to and others were not.