Past council members still receive fringe benefits

Relatively small yet surprising expenses tucked away in each year's city budget are payments made to provide medical, dental and vision benefits for former City Council members and their dependents, expenditures that will cost taxpayers $13,746 this year.

And the city cost for medical insurance premiums for past council members participating in the Public Employees Retirement System Health Plan will increase for three years until full coverage is attained.

Currently, the city's retiree health plan pays up to 85 percent of medical insurance premiums or 85 percent of $1,167, whichever is less. “The 85 percent will increase by 5 percent in 2014, 2015 and 2016 until it reaches 100 percent,” according to Dave Christian, city treasurer and finance director.

In response to my query, Christian stated that three former council members--Barbara Kiley, Hank Wedaa and Gene Wisner--collect the medical insurance benefit, and one--Wedaa--has dental and vision coverage provided under the city's self-insured plan.

The monthly city-paid premium contributions are $276.88 for single coverage for Kiley, $314.87 for single coverage for Wedaa and $553.76 for single and one dependent coverage for Wisner, Christian noted.

Kiley, elected to two terms, served eight years 1992-2000; Wedaa, elected to eight terms, served 30 years 1970-1994, 1996-2000 and 2007-08; and Wisner, appointed to an unexpired term and elected to four terms, served 15 years 1983-1992 and 1994-1999 before resigning due to a move out-of-state.

In 1995, after 28 years of taking only a small stipend, a past council added the five elected leaders to the same benefit and retirement package supplied management employees, on a 3-2 vote, with Kiley, Wisner and Mark Schwing in favor and John Gullixson and Dan Welch opposed.

State law says health benefits for council members can't exceed benefits provided management staff.

In a related matter, a reader chided me for not including in last week's column on council salaries and benefits all income members receive. I omitted pay earned by serving on regional agencies because the stipends are funded by taxes and fees collected countywide, not just from Yorba Linda taxpayers.

But here's a rundown of per-meeting pay: $212.50 to John Anderson at the Sanitation District, $120 to Schwing for the toll roads board, $100 to Gene Hernandez at the Fire Authority and $100 to Craig Young at Vector Control. The boards usually meet monthly, but some allow additional sessions.

Appointments are made in December by the mayor with council concurrence. Hernandez, Schwing, Young and Tom Lindsey were named to non-paying positions on 11 other bodies.

And an Employee Assistance Program cited last week should be explained. Christian described the benefit available to council members and city employees as “an overall physical and emotional well-being program offering counseling and personal services in a wide variety of areas.”