HOISINGTON — Hoisington Chamber of Commerce Board President Scott Fleming thanked the city for its assistance in making the recent Labor Day Weekend Celebration a success. 

“Without the city employees and city council support, I don’t think it could be done.,” he said. 

 Picking up from the Aug. 20 meeting, the council discussed and approved moving forward with a contract for consultation services with Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc. to assist with finding a better and less expensive option for health insurance for city employees. That’s good, because they also gave Mitchell the okay to inform the state that it will no longer participate in the state’s benefits program next year. 

Currently, city employees are covered under the same plan as state employees, but the multi-year contract period is ending Dec. 31, and if no notice is given by Oct. 1, the city would be locked into another three-year contract period. 

Ever since he was informed premiums would be increasing, as well as the maximum out of pocket contribution, Mitchell has been looking into options to cut costs while maintaining coverage as closely as possible for employees, and he told the council that he believes there are some viable options. 

“We thought it was a Cadillac plan when we went onto it, but now it’s just a really old Cadillac, and Cadillacs are expensive to fix,” he said, paraphrasing a city employee. 

Utilizing consulting services from Gallagher could help the city to realize the best possible transition.  

The contract with Gallagher will be for a period of one year, allows either party to provide a 30-day notice to terminate the agreement. 

The company is the fourth largest public benefit consultant in the world, City Manager Jonathan Mitchell said. They are a preferred provider for most insurers in the state, he added. The scope of services they propose will include providing analysis and financial reports, conducting client-directed marketing and negotiations, and supporting corporate and legislative compliance support.  

They will also actively support the city in employee educational efforts, drafting communications to city employees, assist in benefit administration, assist with surveys and design of the city’s benefit plan. There are also staff attorney’s that can help with COBRA issues. 

The city will pay 4 percent of premiums to Gallagher, payable on a monthly basis. Mitchell said based on the current benefits premiums, that amounts to about $20,000 a year. The price is favorable to similar companies, he said, with some charging similar sized cities around $30,000 a year. 

“If the product they bring us is lousy, we can give them 30 days notice,” Mitchell said.