It took a long discussion to get there Thursday, but the LaSalle County Board’s prevailing wisdom is to offer no more health insurance just for being a member. Twelve current members have it and can keep it. Five of them qualify because they retired from county jobs and it’s an irrevocable benefit. The rest got it for being board members.
Randy Freeman of Lostant says the way the county’s insurance works, county government pays up to $175,000 in the member’s costs per year. The county has so-called self-insurance for its employees. The county pays into an insurance trust fund instead of to an insurance company for most coverage. The fund pays claims up to a yearly maximum before claims are submitted to an insurance company. Handling it that way saves a lot of money compared to buying employee insurance for that first $175,000. Freeman thinks it’s too big a benefit for elected board members.
Arratta Znaniecki of Ottawa also says it’s not fair for part time board members to get coverage.
Mike Kasap of LaSalle says he can’t support putting his health liabilities on the taxpayers just because they elected him.
Eventually, the board members getting county health coverage now will leave the board and no board members will have it. Znaniecki says the benefit may have been okay when health insurance was inexpensive decades ago, but it’s not now.
After two other votes against raising board member pay, it’s staying at $60 per day for attending meetings. Proposals to raise it to $100 and $85 were voted down. The per diem has been $60 since 1994.
How they voted
Raising board member pay to $100 per diem
Yes: McNally, Owens, Bernal, Oscepinski, Stockley, Walsh, Znaniecki, Dose, Myers, Roach, Blue
No: Faber, Pottinger, Erbrederis, Borchsenius, Witczak, Savitch, Kasap, Torres, Emmett, Trager, Freeman, Green, Walter
Raising board member pay to $85 per diem
Yes: McNally, Owens, Bernal, Oscepinski, Stockley, Walsh, Znaniecki, Dose, Myers, Roach, Trager
No: Faber, Pottinger, Erbrederis, Borchsenius, Witczak, Savitch, Kasap, Torres, Emmett, Freeman, Green, Walter, Blue
Eliminating health insurance options for new members and current members who don’t have it now
Yes: Faber, McNally, Pottinger, Erbrederis, Owens, Borchsenius, Bernal, Oscepinski, Witczak, Savitch, Stockley, Emmett, Walsh, Znaniecki, Dose, Freeman, Myers, Roach, Walter
No: Kasap, Torres, Trager, Green, Blue
Members not listed weren’t present.