Elected officials in Sellersburg may lose health insurance

Clark County

Discussion

February 23, 2008

By MELISSA MOODY The News and Tribune Sat Feb 23, 2008, 07:13 PM EST

Sellersburg Town Council members, town attorney and town judge are currently eligible for health insurance coverage under the town’s plan with United Healthcare. The council will discuss ending that coverage for newly elected officials at its meeting Monday. Elected officials already receiving coverage will be allowed to keep it under the amendment to Ordinance 2005-020.

“We consider our jobs part-time — we don’t think it’s a good financial decision to give (health) insurance to part-time employees,” said council president Brian Meyer. “(Health) insurance is a huge expense, it is really not a good fiscal decision” to offer it to elected officials.

The family policy currently available to elected officials costs about $1,300 a month, Meyer said.

The town council voted to offer health insurance to elected officials in 2005. Previous town council members had opted for coverage under the town’s healthcare policy, though none of the current council members receive health insurance coverage under the plan.

“It came about as a cost reduction possibility,” said councilman Paul Rhodes, who voted in 2005 to make elected officials eligible. “I want to hear the whole discussion.”

In other business

• The town council may elect new members to the Sellersburg Planning and Zoning Commission and Police Commissioners Board Monday. Members of the two boards don’t currently have term limits on their appointments, even though state law requires appointed board members to serve under limits.

Perry McCall, the town attorney, is investigating how long the current members have served to find out if new appointments are needed. He and the town clerk-treasurer, David Kinder, are researching previous town council meeting minutes to find out when appointments were made.

“In the past the council has not done a very good job of recording appointment dates,” Rhodes said.

Whether or not the council will make appointments depends on if McCall and Kinder can find all the appointment dates in meeting minutes by Monday. If they do, it is a good possibility appointments will be made by the council, Meyer said.

“There’s a lot to figure out,” he said. “Above all else, we want to get it right.”

• Joyce Riley, of Charlestown, will speak to the council Monday about concerns she has regarding the treatment of injured animals by Sellersburg Animal Control.

• Joe Olson, the new Sellersburg Agent of Record, will inform the council about two healthcare plans for town employees offered by United Healthcare.

• Sellersburg Station, LLC, an apartment complex off of Triangle Drive in Sellersburg, will request a renewal of a tax abatement granted to the complex during its construction. The complex owners have completed all the necessary requirements to obtain a renewal and the request is expected to pass, Meyer said.