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City reviews employee benefits and health‑insurance options; ProShare rebate and self‑funding discussed
Summary
Staff briefed council on personnel-cost assumptions for next year (2% COLA baseline, up to 4.5% merit range) and on health‑insurance trends: projected 3.5% premium increase, participation in Florida Blue's ProShare rebate program, and preliminary exploration of a municipal self‑funded plan.
City staff outlined personnel and benefits assumptions for the upcoming budget year and summarized health‑insurance cost drivers and options.
Jess (city staff) said staff is beginning projections using a 2% cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) baseline and noted merit increases were previously set at up to 4.5% for some employees. "We're going to start our projections with a 2% COLA...and when we come back in July, we'll present you with some hard numbers on what that looks like," Jess said. Staff reported health‑insurance costs are projected to rise about 3.5% based on the city's agreement with Florida Blue and an employer wellness program that reduces premiums when participation is high.
ProShare and self‑funding discussion Jess summarized the ProShare retention agreement with Florida Blue that returns a portion of unspent premium dollars to participating local governments; cities may choose how to allocate that rebate (last year it was issued back to employees). Several council members questioned whether returning ProShare dollars to employees was equitable and asked whether switching to a self‑funded plan could lower long‑term costs.
Staff said a self‑funded plan is under consideration but would require an actuarial study and a reserve set‑aside; staff estimated an initial funding reserve in the range of $500,000 to $1,000,000 and said it would require additional in‑house expertise to manage. Staff cautioned that previous abrupt plan changes had negatively affected employee morale and that any move would need to be carefully planned.
Other personnel metrics noted Staff reported a turnover rate of roughly 7% (below regional local‑government averages of about 10%), current staffing at about 90% of budgeted positions, and expanded wellness and first‑responder life‑scan programs tied to better health metrics and potentially lower claims.
Next steps Staff will include personnel assumptions and benefit projections in detailed budget models and, if council wishes, will commission an actuarial study and more detailed cost/benefit comparisons of self‑funded versus fully insured plans.
