The Sioux City Council debated whether to authorize negotiations with Ameriflex to administer the city's health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts before removing the item from the agenda.

Stewart Lee of IBC, the local vendor that currently administers the plan, reminded council members that his firm provides a local walk-in service and processes the city's claims. "We process approximately 500,000 claims a year, 7,000 actual claims, 500,000 in premium dollars that we reimburse your employees for the flex plan," he said, arguing local access matters to employees.

Hannah Fuller, the city's human-resources benefits manager, said staff found Ameriflex's proposal could save the city roughly $3,600 year over year if the walk-in service is removed and as much as $8,900 if other opt-outs are applied. "If we move to Ameriflex, it would be a $3,600 savings year over year with no walk in and it would be an $8,900 year over year savings if we don't allow the walk in," Fuller said.

Council members raised two central trade-offs: supporting a local vendor with a walk-in service versus achieving modest budget savings, and the difficulty of comparing proposals that offered different contract lengths and service bundles. Several councilors suggested a one-year approach to preserve flexibility while pursuing savings.

After discussion, the council voted to delete the motion to negotiate with Ameriflex and instructed staff to pursue next steps appropriate to the budget and procurement rules; the council's roll-call recorded Aye votes to delete the item in the meeting record. Staff noted the current contract structure would allow continuing with the existing vendor for another year while preparing a new request for proposals if desired.

What's next: Staff will follow up on council direction, which may include negotiating a short-term extension with the incumbent or re-issuing a clarified RFP to compare three-year terms on an apples-to-apples basis.