During the public hearing, while department heads waited in the Finance sub-committee meeting room, City Treasurer Meghan Kane clarified the different groups to which Flaherty referred during the debate on the transfer of health care holiday savings to OPEB.
Kane said the OPEB Working Group with Mayor Knapik in 2014 was not a formal committee. She said it was comprised of union representatives, and a health insurance consultants. Kane said they took a non-binding vote. Kane said the top vote-getter was to use Free Cash for OPEB.
The group Mayor Sullivan referred to as in agreement with his plan is the Public Employee Committee (PEC). Kane said this group officially convened and had statutory representation. The PEC group negotiated health insurance with the Mayor. Kane said the City Council had to give the Mayor the authority to convene the PEC, which they did, and which allowed the Mayor to convene with all the unions collectively.
Kane said the PEC voted that if the health insurance account was healthy, that half of the month-long Health Care Holiday in the spring of 2018 ($600,000) would go to OPEB. Kane said the meetings were held in June and July of 2016. The union representatives and the Mayor signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which was approved by the City Council in October of 2016. The decision was binding.
Kane said the Heath Trustees can vote for Health Insurance Holidays, and did say they wanted the money to go to OPEB. However, she said they have no authority over where it goes.
“It’s not a cut and dry issue, bottom line, much as I or the Trustees may want more money to go to OPEB,” Kane said, adding, “Every mayor I’ve served over the years, I’ve made multiple requests for appropriations to OPEB. No one ever did.” Kane also said that this year’s proposed $700,000 is “massive,” as only $50,000 has been in the account since 2011.
