Ripon Common Council Ponders Employee Health Insurance Premium Contributions
11 April 2019 News
During their meeting Tuesday night the Ripon Common Council asked for more information about how much city employees contribute toward their health insurance premiums. Aldermen Aaron Becker and John Splitt asked for that information on the heels of a wage and benefits survey prepared by City Administrator Lori Rich. The two had put that question before the Council during work on the City Budget last fall. The wage and benefit survey found that Ripon would need to pay its employees $299,000 more in wages just to bring the city up to the average of what other communities of similar size are paying their employees. Mayor Gary Will said the city was on the lower end of wages, which is why employees don’t have to contribute as much for health insurance premiums. Becker made a motion approved by the rest of the council to ask to see what the city’s costs would be at different premium contribution rates for employees and how much that would cost employees out of pocket and what that would mean in terms of the amount saved or collected by the city. Will said it’s getting harder to attract and retain employees who can make more in the private sector. If the Council makes any adjustments it would have to be during the budget cycle in the fall.
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