Committee debates council compensation and whether members can opt out of city health insurance

Members of the Charter Review Committee debated whether city council pay should be raised to attract candidates and whether elected officials should be allowed to opt out of city-provided health insurance in exchange for a stipend.

A committee member said increasing compensation might "entice people to run" and asked whether council members could be paid a cash stipend instead of receiving health coverage. City Attorney Rollins said he had not found an express prohibition in the charter and that, in practice, such an opt-out could be handled through city policy rather than a charter amendment. "If the charter isn't specific on the insurance piece one way or the other, then it can be an administrative policy," Rollins said.

Staff provided a figure from committee materials showing the "fully loaded" annual cost of health benefits per member as $9,371.28. Several members said they were concerned about liability or fairness if some members took an opt-out stipend without proving alternate coverage; Rollins said the city currently does not require verification and that, if the committee wanted a stipend program, it could be designed to require proof of outside coverage.

Action: Staff will provide the written city policy on health benefits and options for a stipend model or charter-language changes for committee review.