Proposals to approve an agreement and bylaws to co-create a joint insurance fund (JIF) for healthcare coverage as well as to consider a rate schedule for the town pool unchanged from last year head a light agenda for the March 11, 2014, council meeting.
The meeting agendas and related materials are here.
The meeting also includes two proposed ordinances on first reading that would create a Director of Staff Operations position as well as add a potential second Deputy Police Chief position. The conference agenda will feature a discussion of PSE&G’s $3.9 billion “Energy Strong” infrastructure rate case by a proponent and opponent of the plan.
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Council approved in December the administration’s proposal to create its own self-insured healthcare plan, which began in January, as a less-expensive alternative to the previous coverage. The administration had said at the time that the self-insured plan was the first step in a process to create a JIF along with Parsippany and Bloomfield in April 2014.
Materials provided in December to the council from Fairview Insurance, the town’s insurance broker/consultant, estimated cost reductions of 13.8% to 14.9% -- savings of $78,000 to $84,000 per month and monthly costs of $481,000 to $487,560 -- with a self-insured plan. Fairview estimated additional savings through the creation of the three-town JIF.
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(I’ve been trying since December 6 to get an accounting of the payments the town is making for its self-insured plan. The town sent me a Fairview memo on January 30 showing monthly payments totaling $124,111, plus an “Aggregate Premium” line with the illegible number “2,11.20”. Although I’ve asked, the town has not provided information responsive to my request.)
The resolution currently up for council approval indicates the JIF is now only with Bloomfield, with no mention of the status of Parsippany. Given that one of the attractions of the JIF was the ability to spread administrative expenses over three municipalities, I’ve asked the administration for the financial impact of having only two members.
The administration’s annual update of the ordinance for the town’s Ginny Duenkel pool would maintain the existing fee structure and levels. This second and final reading will include a hearing where the public can comment.
Two other proposed ordinances are on the agenda for first reading. The first ordinance would create a Director of Staff Operations position. During the statutory hearing on the 2014 budget on March 1, the administration said it wanted to consolidate management and planned to name Police Chief James Abbott to the position.
The other ordinance would add a Police Deputy Chief position, increasing the authorized number from 1 to 2. Last week, Michael Corcoran was promoted from captain to become the only deputy chief (an annualized increase in pay of 5.4% to $139,269). He was replaced in his previous role of captain by the promotion of Lieutenant Robert Martin (an annualized increase in pay of 5.4% to $121,777).
Also, the Conference Agenda includes a discussion of PSE&G’s $3.9 billion “Energy Strong” program now under regulatory review in a rate case before the state Department of Public Utilities. The discussion will feature a PSE&G executive as well as a representative of a coalition opposing the proposal. The council has twice tabled a resolution proposed by PSE&G supporting the company’s proposal.
If you’d like to contact the council with your thoughts on any of these issues, please send an e-mail to council@westorange.org or call 973.325.4155 to leave a message.
I’m a West Orange Township councilman since 2010, reachable at jkrakoviak@westorange.org. I'm a business communications consultant in my spare time.
