Akron City Council agreed Monday to quit offering retiree health benefits to future employees and elected officials.
Under the legislation, any official elected or employee hired on or after Jan. 1, 2017, won’t receive health care, vision or dental benefits from the city upon retirement.
The council approved the change 12-0. Ward 6 Councilman Bob Hoch abstained from voting, saying he has family members who are affected by the policy.
The measure is part of a bigger package as the local government looks to trim spending on supplemental health benefits for city retirees.
The administration also introduced an alternative plan Monday to the City Council that would provide a monthly stipend to retired workers, so they can go out and find their own supplemental health insurance instead of getting it through the city.
The stipends would range from $35 for a single retired worker over age 65 to $410 for a family with a retiree under age 65.
“We are in a position now — and I applaud council for looking at this — where we need to be on a better financial foothold,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said at the council meeting Monday. “Things do change over time, whether they be contracts or whether they be conditions. These are the conditions that we’re looking at now to put ourselves in a better position.”
The council now has two proposals to consider: the stipend or the original plan that included requiring retirees to start paying a similar amount as active employees toward their health insurance.
Council members have been mulling the original proposal for weeks.
“We would really like to act upon this as quickly as possible,” Ward 9 Councilman Mike Freeman said at Monday’s meeting.
Retirees now receive the supplemental benefit for free, but Horrigan announced last month that the city can no longer afford to offer it.
His original proposal was met with significant opposition from union leaders, including a threat of litigation.
The unions had proposed the stipend idea, although they suggested higher amounts.
James Hardy, Horrigan’s chief of staff, said the mayor listened to the unions when crafting the new proposal.
“We still believe that our current legislation is strong legislation and will put the city in a much better financial position and control costs in a better fashion,” he said.
No union members were present at the council meeting Monday, but a couple retirees spoke about the legislation during the meeting’s time for public comments.
“It has been excellent for the last seven years since I retired,” Steve Nome of Cuyahoga Falls said about the current health care benefits. “I hope that this can work out so that it doesn’t put a real stress on the retirees.”
Freeman said he wants the council to decide on one of the proposals by next week’s meeting.
“We’re not talking about people losing health benefits,” Freeman said. “We’re just trying to put retirees at the same level as folks who are still working.”
The administration has estimated the current cost of retiree benefits at $6 million and said it would grow to more than $11 million in 10 years if not adjusted.
There are 2,406 retirees covered by the city now, with the supplemental health care extended to an additional 1,648 dependents.
Also at the meeting were several people against the development of Stoney Pointe Commons, a proposed apartment complex for homeless and disabled adults on Vernon Odom Boulevard near Romig Road, which is set to begin construction in March.
The City Council still has to approve a variance to allow fewer parking spaces than normally required, but the property is already zoned properly for the apartment complex.
Many opponents who live around the area say they were never notified of the project and fear it will reduce their property values and neighborhood security.
“Some of us may want to sell our homes and get out of this area so we won’t have to deal with this,” said Kerry Morgan of Akron. “I just ask for some time so we can get our things together and possibly put our house up for sale.”
The number of dissenters at the meeting prompted Horrigan to speak up about the project.
“As this project goes around, I want to kind of calm the fears down a little bit,” Horrigan said. “I think there’s a stigma out there — and I’m not saying the project is good or bad, believe me, I think there’s still a way to go for some things — but how we treat everybody that comes into this city, I think that’s the measure of judgment, is how we treat each other.”
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom .
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .