Officials Frustrated Over Rise in Health Care Costs, Angry Over 'Sick Day Incentive' Policy

Insurance costs are booming in the village as it tries to chip away at its budget shortfall of nearly $400,000. While the council expressed frustration with that cost, it was a ‘sick leave incentive’ day that made one member of the council’s blood boil.

Health care costs up twelve percent

The council and top village budget crafters discussed the challenges stemming from a 12 percent increase in health insurance costs to the village, reaching a figure of $750,000, according to village CFO Stephen Sanzari.

The CFO, appointed to the role a few months ago after Village Manager Ken Gabbert dropped the title from his role in village affairs, reported that the plan is “rich in benefits” for workers but he said after the quotes came in, they’ll be sticking with the state’s health plan.

Unfortunately for the village, a contract is a contract and between the benefits spent on retirees–said to be 50 percent of insurance and benefits the village pays, according to Gabbert–and unions, it’s a cost they’ll have to bear.

“Based on the premiums that we pay compared to the claims that they pay out on, the dollars, that ratio is way out of line,” Sanzari said.

Mayor Keith Killion said part of can be attributed to out-of-network doctors who do not take the insurance. He said–pointing to a suggestion resident Roger Weigand made in recent months–the village should consider shopping around.

Deputy Mayor Tom Riche charged that the insurance is too worker-friendly.

“I can’t buy the kind of co-pays that the state employees have,” he said, adding that if co-pays could be raised, “premiums would drop.”

Gabbert reported that Christie’s health care reform proposals would help the village. But with the Democrats controlling the legislature, there’s no guarantee that goes through.

Aronsohn provided a counterpoint by saying that while the whole system needs to be reformed, until public employees are paid in line with that of private sector employees, the better benefits serves to level the playing field.

Deputy Mayor’s ‘blood boils’ over sick leave policy

Perhaps more than any one issue discussed at the budget session on Monday, the council expressed outrage at a “sick day incentive” leave for union and non-union employees, which drove up negotiated salary costs.

“The sick leave incentive is basically if an employee is not out sick for six months, they get base pay for a day off. That’s in the contracts,” Sanzari said.

Mayor Killion said that it was negotiated years before the present council. Killion explained the rationale for the perk, also explaining that it was difficult to police employees who called out sick even if they were perfectly healthy.

The mayor reported it was designed as a way to balance the costs of accrued sick days, which led to overtime costs having to be paid to fill shifts.

“The idea was . . . If you gave them an incentive of one day and you paid the day, it would be counterbalanced by the amount of time that they called out sick.”

“You don’t reward somebody for those days by paying them,” Riche said.

He continued: “We’re trying to find $300 [thousand] some-odd dollars and we hear ‘incentive sick leave’ and it just makes my blood boil . . . we’re compensating people with taxpayer money” to not work.

“Sick leave is for people who are sick, period. We shouldn’t pay for it. It’s such an abuse,” Aronsohn said.

“That’s why it’s important every contract is a battle,” Wellinghorst said.

Worker’s comp, pensions increasing

Worker’s compensation rose 164 percent in 2010, reaching about $450,000 according to Sanzari. Gabbert said that’s largely a result of a few big claims in mid-2009 and early 2010. One claim from 2010 is for roughly $100,000, Gabbert told the council.

Riche said this represents an opportunity to put a greater emphasis on safety measures. The deputy mayor said the safety committee meeting four times a year just isn’t good enough.

Councilman Stephen Wellinghorst added “it has to be cultural,” and council members offered their assistance to aid in better safety management to keep claims down.

Unemployment costs were close to 2009 levels at $324,000. Terminal leave was up from $319,000 to $327,000 in 2010. “That’s basically to take care of retirements last year and also for this year,” Sanzari said.

Sanzari told the council that Ridgewood would be on the hook for a 30 percent increase in pensions for retirement, now at $1.3 million, and a 12 percent pension increase toward police and fire, now at $2.4 million.