HomeMy Public PortalAbout066-2012 - Amended General Ordinance - city code spousal insuSTRICKEN
AMENDED ORDINANCE NO. 66-2012
GENERAL ORDINANCE AMENDING RICHMOND CITY CODE FOR
WORKING SPOUSE HEALTH INSURANCE
WHEREAS, the Common Council ("Council") of the City of Richmond,
Indiana is the legislative and fiscal body for the City of Richmond and is responsible
for the fiscal stability of the City of Richmond, Indiana; and
WHEREAS, the City of Richmond, Indiana ("City") must balance its budget
and cannot run a deficit; and
WHEREAS, the City needs a cash reserve sufficient to be able to meet its
ongoing budget and expense needs, including unanticipated and unknown fluctuations
in both revenue and expenses; and
WHEREAS, based upon the best currently available financial figures and
projections, the City is on track to exhaust its entire cash reserves and have a deficit of
over $230,000 by the end of 2013 unless necessary measures are immediately taken to
maintain a fiscally responsible cash reserve sufficient to prohibit the City from drastic
budget cutting; and
WHEREAS, the City has maintained fiscally responsible cash reserves in an
amount less than that recommended by the State Board of Accounts but in an amount
that has enabled the City to safely react and adjust to revenue shortfalls as well as to
unanticipated expenditures;
WHEREAS, because of the City's precarious financial situation of a projected
deficit the City needs to take all steps available to it in order to continue to serve
and protect the citizens of Richmond while enforcing its right to retain employees and
preventing a layoff of City employees in order to keep the City fiscally sound; and
WHEREAS, the City has had significant fluctuations in its health insurance
expenses in the past few years due to being self insured; and
WHEREAS, the implementation of the working spouse rule for health
insurance (defined as the elimination of health insurance for current and retired City
employees' spouses with other health insurance available to them) is an action that has
the least adverse impact to the City budget and to current and retired City employee
benefits in order for the City to maintain its fiscally responsible operation of the City;
and
WHEREAS, the implementation of the working spouse rule for health insurance
is the fairest way to address the City's budget needs by requiring spouses of current
City employees and spouses of City employees who retire after December 31, 2012
to obtain health insurance that is available to them while the City still provides
health insurance coverage to those spouses of current and retired City employees
who do not have other health insurance available to them; and
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WHEREAS, the anticipated costs of savings from implementing the working
spouse rule for health insurance is uncertain but has been estimated to be anywhere
from $600,000.00 to $1,200,000.00 for all current and retired employees of the City
of Richmond; and
WHEREAS, November 28 2012, is the first day for open enrollment when
current and retired City employees can sign up for health insurance coverage for 2013
and unless action is taken prior to that day, current and retired City employees and
those City employees who retire by December 31, 2012 will be eligible to
sign up for health insurance for their spouses who have other health insurance available
to them; and
WHEREAS, it would be contrary to the public interest and to the City's
interest and to the interests of current and retired City employees and City
employees who retire after December 31, 2012 in not taking action at this
time in order to properly and timely address and respond to the projected deficit
shortfall with fiscally prudent action and to minimize the need for any layoffs of City
employees; and
WHEREAS, Council has the power and opportunity to enact an
ordinance that will dramatically limit any need for layoff of City employees; and
WHEREAS, It is in the best interests of the City of Richmond, its citizens and
its fiscal well-being to protect public safety concerns and avoid layoffs by reducing
insurance coverage to the City's current and retired employees while continuing to
provide them with basic health insurance benefits.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, THAT:
The City of Richmond adopts the above stated recitals as findings and amends
City Chapter 33 to add Section 33.08 that reads as follows:
33.08: The City of Richmond eliminates health insurance for current and
retired City employees' spouses who have other health insurance
available to them (the working spouse rule for health insurance),
effective November 6, 2012 and continuing until revoked by Common
Council, except any spouse of a current retiree, or any spouse of a current full
time employee who has signed up for the PERF DROP program prior to
January 1, 2013, and still be eligible to remain on the City's Health Care Plan.
This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage.
Passed and adopted by the Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana
this 27th day of November, 2012.
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ATTEST:
RICHMOND COMMON COUNCIL
(Karen Chasteen, IAMC, MMC)
President, Philip Matthew Quinn
City Clerk
PRESENTED to the Mayor of the City of Richmond, Indiana, this 28th day of
November, 2012, at 9:00 a.m.
City Clerk
(Karen Chasteen, IAMC, MMC)
APPROVED by me, Sarah L. Hutton, Mayor of the City of Richmond, Indiana, this
28th day of November, 2012 at 9:05 a.m.
Mayor
ATTEST:
(Sarah L. Hutton)
(Karen Chasteen, IAMC, MMC)
City Clerk
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