Committee recommends offering elected officials access to city health plan; cost estimates vary by plan

Committee members focused significant discussion on how to provide health coverage for elected officials and how costs would scale depending on plan selection. Chair (speaker 4) explained the administrative mechanism: the city manager signs the annual health-plan eligibility; if the committee and council decide to include elected officials, the city can add them at that annual renewal.

Members debated whether to offer a stipend or direct enrollment. "I hope if nothing else, they get access to health care," a committee member said, arguing that access would reduce barriers for candidates without employer-based benefits. Staff gave cost examples ranging from a very minimal individual plan (noted as about "$6.50 a month" in the transcript for a lowest-cost option) to a high-end family plan (roughly "$3,000 a month"). Staff also cited a middle option with the city paying around $1,000 a month plus an HSA contribution for a popular high-deductible plan; members noted that several incumbents on Medicare would not need coverage and that final costs would depend on plan choices and enrollment selections.

The committee agreed to present 'access to care' as a core benefit in the presentation while keeping detailed cost tables available as an appendix for council questions.