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HR director Chris Hines summarizes benefits, labor costs and staffing in quarterly report
Summary
HR director Chris Hines presented a quarterly report on benefit enrollment, Q4 health and retirement costs, workforce demographics and turnover, and proposed employee training; the committee asked for year‑over‑year comparisons and accepted the report for further review.
Chris Hines, the borough’s new human resources director, presented a quarterly HR report that detailed employee benefit participation, recent costs and workforce demographics.
Hines told the Administrative Communication and Technology (ACT) committee that 122 employees were eligible for health insurance, with employee participation numbers reported in the materials and 141 family members enrolled. She said 19 employees waived coverage; for employees who opt out the borough offers an annual cash rebate, with nonuniform employees receiving $5,000 in one reported instance.
On costs, Hines reported fourth‑quarter medical insurance expenditures of $706,408.87 and a borough rebate on premiums of $291,533.90 for 2025, which she described as “really great” and a result of lower claims. Hines also gave Q4 totals of $26,686.79 for dental coverage and $3,408.50 for vision coverage. The borough operates a self‑insured medical plan and contributes to employee health savings accounts; Hines said the single deductible is $2,000 and the family deductible $4,000, with differential employer HSA contributions for uniform and nonuniform staff.
Hines described retirement provisions: a defined‑contribution plan with a 5% borough contribution, the availability of a 457(b) option funded by employees, and recent pension participation figures. Workers’ compensation and overtime figures were provided (four Q4 claims; Q4 overtime costing roughly $185,000). Hines reported a Q4 turnover rate of 5.8 percent, below a public‑administration benchmark she cited of 11.9 percent annually.
Council members asked clarifying questions and requested that future reports include year‑over‑year comparisons. Chair (speaker 1) and others thanked Hines for the presentation; Hines said she will pursue trainings on harassment prevention and progressive discipline for managers and staff this year.
The presentation concluded with the committee’s agreement to keep the HR materials available for follow‑up; members asked staff to supply comparative figures at a later meeting.
