Thursday, October 26, 2006
By JAMES YOO
STAFF WRITER
RINGWOOD – The Borough Council is considering getting rid of its health-care benefits as it faces pressure to cut municipal costs in anticipation of next year's budget.
The council instructed its attorney Tuesday to draft an ordinance that would eliminate health-care benefits for its members and part-time and appointed employees.
The move was approved in a 6-1 vote. Democrats Joanne Atlas, Tom MacAllen, Bill O'Hearn and Wenke Taule voted yes with Republicans Donna Anderson and Linda Schaefer. Deputy Mayor William Marsala, a Republican, was the lone dissenter.
After adopting a $14.2 million municipal budget for 2006 in September, the council has been looking to decrease spending, which includes possible layoffs and limiting conference attendance.
Five of seven council members have health-care benefits paid for by the borough. The cost is about $90,000 for 2006, said Borough Manager Ken Hetrick.
Atlas and Schaefer pay for their own benefits.
The council split along party lines 3-3 at the last meeting, with Democrats voting to prepare an ordinance ending benefits and Republicans voting against it. MacAllen was absent from that meeting.
Taule introduced the resolution Tuesday.
"It was important to get it done now because the budget process last year really failed because no cuts were made," she said Wednesday. "If we make these decisions now before January, the taxpayers are getting a full year of savings."
Anderson and Schaefer said at the meeting that they had voted no last time because they did not have adequate information or time to study the proposal. But O'Hearn disputed this and said all members had enough information.
Marsala said he voted no because he disagreed with how Jerry Holt, a former mayor who's brought up the topic continually over the summer and fall, raised the issue.
Marsala questioned why Holt had not raised the issue earlier.
Holt on Wednesday countered that the borough's present financial situation merited the questions about benefits.
"The fact that we never ever [previously] introduced a budget with a 20-percent tax increase [as first forecast for 2006] and because of the rising cost of health care and the significant budget problems they have now -- it's time to revisit a lot of issues," Holt said.
The ordinance will be introduced at a special council meeting on Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m.