Naperville to sign off on new contracts for public works equipment operators and police 911 staff [Naperville Sun, Ill.]

Naperville Sun (IL)

Oct. 18—New contracts with public works equipment operators and police telecommunicators will cost Naperville roughly $900,000 over the next five years.

Naperville City Council members this week are expected to sign off on deals with 45 equipment operators represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 and 25 police 911 telecommunicators represented by the Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council.

The equipment operators contract, which runs from Jan. 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2026, includes annual percentage wage increases of 4% for 2022; 3% for 2023 and 2024; 2.5% for 2025 and 2% for 2026.

The total cost over the five years is $514,607, according a memo from the city's legal department.

Under the telecommunicators' contract, which is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2021, and ends Dec. 31, 2025, workers will receive pay increases of 2.5% annually with an additional 9.4% market adjustment for 2022.

The contract also includes a wage premium for employees working as a certified training officer, which increases $2 per hour to $4 per hour retroactive to Jan. 1, 2022.

Changes to the medical insurance plan were included and are projected to reduce the amount paid by the city and its insured employees through the self-insured premium rates and increase the share of expenses for participants for out-of-network services.

The cost of telecommunicators' agreement, not including the insurance plan design cost savings, is $357,292 for the five-year term, the legal department memo said.

Naperville also was expected to renew one-year agreements with:

—Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois for medical insurance at a cost not to exceed $2.6 million, based on health maintenance organization (HMO) and preferred provider organization (PPO) enrollment;

—Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada for stop loss reinsurance for an amount not to exceed $1 million in fixed premium, based on PPO enrollment;

—VOYA for group life/accidental death and dismemberment insurance not to exceed $587,091, based on enrollment for three years at a cost of $195,697 per year with the option for two one-year extensions.

The city will continue with CVS-Caremark as its pharmacy benefits manager in 2023.

The total cost of the health care plans in 2023 is $19.8 million, a 3.3% increase over 2022, according to a memo from James Sheehan, director of human resources for the city.

Because Naperville is self-insured, the city is responsible for all medical, dental and pharmaceutical expenses.

Sheehan said Naperville's medical and pharmaceutical plans outperformed national averages since 2014.

In April of that year, the council hired GCG Financial/Alera Group as its benefits broker and renewed the agreement in September 2021 for another three years.

One of the duties of the company is to price, negotiate and recommend the renewal of medical insurance, pharmaceutical management and life insurance contracts, Sheehan said.

It also negotiated a multiyear contract with Delta Dental last year that was approved by the council through 2023.

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