TITUSVILLE, Fla. — The council voted unanimously on Aug. 26 to renew its voluntary employee vision plan by switching to Humana Vision (plan 130) through Sept. 30, 2027, and to renew group life and AD&D coverage for the coming fiscal year, contingent on FY26 budget approval.

The item generated longer debate than typical voluntary benefits because several council members raised design and competitiveness questions. The city’s HR director said the recommended renewal includes negotiated enhancements (higher allowances for frames and contacts) at no increase in cost to the employee group, and that the city’s benefits consultant advised Humana as competitive based on network and pricing. Council members asked staff to gather additional market quotes and consider a four-tier premium structure (employee only; employee + spouse; employee + child(ren); family) because the current two-tier (employee/family) structure can produce higher premiums for some household compositions.

Council heard that about 600 employees are eligible for voluntary vision coverage and that the open-enrollment window extends through Sept. 11. Several council members asked staff to obtain additional quotes from other carriers and to have the benefits consultant explain rationale for the Humana recommendation at a future meeting; staff agreed to return with additional analysis after open enrollment concludes.

Why it matters: Employee benefits affect recruitment and retention. Council members framed the discussion both as employee welfare and fiscal stewardship; multiple members asked for more transparency into vendor selection, network breadth and tier design.

Next steps: Staff will request additional comparative quotes, ask the benefits consultant to appear and produce an RFP for medical and ancillary plans in the next procurement cycle; no change to the open-enrollment schedule was made.