Albany employees’ insurance costs unchanged

ALBANY — City of Albany employees got the good news Tuesday that, for the third year in a row, there would be no increases in their group insurance premiums during an Albany City Commission meeting that featured an almost hour-long discussion of speed tables.

Ward IV Commissioner Roger Marietta had requested a traffic study of the 1600 block of Lynwood Lane and had completed paperwork required to approve the placement of traffic-calming speed tables along the street, but Ward V Commissioner Bob Langstaff pointed out that most of the $200,000 allocated for such devices over the past two fiscal years had been utilized in Ward IV.

“I thought we’d decided to divide the funding for this program evenly across the six wards and with the mayor’s input,” Langstaff said. “I’d like to keep this program going because I think it’s a viable program, but I don’t want to lose the support of (commissioners in) Ward I and Ward VI because all the money’s going into one ward.

“This was supposed to be, I thought, like alley-paving, where we do the same number of linear feet in each ward. But in two years, 50 percent of the total funding for the program has been budgeted in Ward IV.”

City Manager Sharon Subadan offered figures showing funding spent or approved for the traffic-calming program: $0 in Ward I, $6,416 in Ward II, $6,475 in Ward III, $78,372 in Ward IV, $23,255 in Ward V and $0 in Ward VI.

Marietta told the board Mayor Dorothy Hubbard had agreed to serve as sponsor of one of the programs in his ward, and Ward III Commissioner B.J. Fletcher had agreed to sponsor the Lynwood Lane project.

“Even deducting the cost of those two projects, you’ve still outspent your share of the program,” Langstaff noted.

Ward VI Commissioner Tommie Postell said Marietta’s use of the funds amounts to “discrimination.”

“I don’t want to deny anyone in the city speed humps because we’ve had a situation where a child was run over and killed, and that’s the worst thing that can happen,” Postell said. “But allocating all of the funding in this program for one commissioner is discrimination.”

Langstaff later offered a motion to approve $17,500 in funding for the Lynwood Lane speed humps but offered an amendment that required city staff to distribute future funding for the program evenly among the wards. That motion carried 4-3 during a vote in the work meeting but was approved unanimously in the business meeting that followed.

Subadan and city insurance consultants with ShawHankins noted that the city’s group health plan had been able to hold down costs over the past year despite a general upturn in the industry. Statistics indicated that much of the good news is due to increased use of the city’s wellness center.

Among the items noted during discussion of the city’s insurance program: a 55 percent reduction in emergency room costs, a 25 percent decrease in claims for diabetes, a 56 percent reduction in claims for heart disease and a 61 percent reduction in claims for cancer treatment. Employee use of the city’s wellness center was recognized as a primary factor for the improvements.

“The city took a risk when we decided to implement the wellness center,” Assistant City Manager Phil Roberson said. “And the start-up costs were significant. But we were told that there would be a payoff down the road. That’s what we’re seeing today.”

The commission also approved a state-mandated ordinance by which the city Marshal’s office will file a report with the state Department of Revenue any time disciplinary action is taken against a person licensed to operate a bar; renewed a mutual aid agreement with MCLB-Albany; officially ratified a special approval application from the Albany Islamic Center that will allow for the construction of a cemetery at 711 W. Highland Ave.; and OK’d a joint resolution with the Dougherty County Commission that will extend the city and county’s service delivery agreements through Feb. 28 while staff tries to come to an agreement over building maintenance.

The County Commission agreed to the extension at its meeting Monday.