Mesquite — Human Resources Director Libby Craven presented health‑benefit trends, retiree costs and a set of proposed plan design changes and a market‑adjustment pool the department says are needed to help recruit and retain staff.

Craven told council the city is self‑insured for medical coverage; the city pays the largest share of monthly premiums and is seeing rising claims, especially for prescriptions. She listed proposed changes including small increases in employee paycheck deductions, modest increases to deductibles on high‑deductible plans, and consolidation from four medical options to two plans.

Why it matters: Benefits are a major part of total compensation and affect recruiting and retention in public safety and public‑works roles with heavy demand for technicians and CDL‑qualified employees. HR said changes are proposed to limit plan‑cost growth while preserving broad coverage and an employer contribution strategy.

Key proposals and figures
- Medical plan mix: The city currently offers four medical plans (HDHP, HSA, HMO, PPO). Most employees choose the higher deductible HDHP/HSA options.
- Employee premium and fares: HR proposed a $10 per paycheck increase in employee contributions and elimination of the “employee + child” rate tier (moving those members to a higher child tier), estimated to save roughly $326,000 and another $52,000 respectively.
- Deductible and co‑pay changes: Craven proposed modest increases to HSA/HDP deductibles and higher co‑pays for prescription tiers; projected savings were presented as several hundred thousand dollars if fully adopted.
- Retiree coverage: HR proposed simplifying the city’s retiree contribution scheme to a flat fee for certain retiree groups and continuing a Post‑65 insured product; HR said retirees make up roughly 10% of claim costs.
- Market pay: HR recommended a $500,000 market‑adjustment pool (on top of merit increases) to address hard‑to‑fill positions and phase‑2 pay adjustments.

Council questions: Members asked about employee access to doctors if plan options were reduced and whether the new city health clinic would show savings; HR said the HDHP/HSA network is a broad PPO network and the clinic is too new to show measurable savings.

Ending: HR will return with final cost estimates and the communication plan; council members asked HR to add an analysis comparing the communication and recruitment effects of plan changes for front‑line hourly staff.