Committee recommends HR budget lines, workers’ comp, unemployment and GIC spending to council

The Committee on Administration and Finance reviewed the Human Resources (HR) department’s fiscal 2026 requests and recommended multiple HR-related budget lines to the full City Council.

Lisa Cammarata, Human Resources director, described HR functions and staffing, noting the department handles hiring, benefits administration for about 1,800 health‑insurance subscribers and coordination of training and DEI programming. Cammarata said the department has a new benefits manager and described education and language‑access stipends used for internal programs.

The committee approved a positive recommendation for the HR general administration personnel line of $491,023 and an expenditure line of $34,200 for a departmental total of $525,223. The committee separately recommended approval of the workers’ compensation personnel total of $334,360 and the unemployment compensation personnel total of $220,000.

On employee health benefits, the committee discussed the state Group Insurance Commission (GIC). Cammarata and committee members noted press reports of a GIC cash‑flow issue affecting provider payments; Cammarata said enrollee coverage was not affected but that provider payments could be delayed while legislative action proceeds. The committee recommended approval of the employee insurance benefits budget line of $20,257,565.

During discussion, Cammarata explained that the city is not self‑insured for workers’ compensation (since 2008) and that ‘‘tail claims’’ from pre‑2008 injuries still generate ongoing costs. Committee members asked about recruitment and retention; Cammarata pointed to recent hires, benefit offerings and a compensation study the city is implementing to raise employees toward market minimums.

All HR‑related items were recommended to the full City Council for final action.