Batavia Town Supervisor Gregory Post sees himself as "a merit-based guy" -- someone who believes in rewarding those whose job performances consistently exceed the expectation of the Town Board.
"And we have those type of people here," he said. "Employees who come in early and stay late, who have a high level of expertise, and who warrant a level of compensation that will enable us to recruit the best people and retain them."
But, Post is also a realist, and he has come to the realization that the town's contribution to staff health insurance premiums has reached a tipping point.
The supervisor fielded health insurance-related questions on Wednesday night, following the board's favorable vote on a resolution that mandates that the town pay up to 95 percent of the monthly premiums for its employees for 2017.
Rates under the Blue Cross Blue Shield Gold Standard Plan that the town will be purchasing range from $456 per month for an employee-only plan to $1,300 per month for a family plan. Employees hired prior to Sept. 18, 2013 will contribute 5 percent of the monthly cost and those hired after Sept. 17, 2013 will contribute 25 percent.
All told, the town is projecting in the neighborhood of $250,000 in health insurance premium costs.
"Traditionally the town's compensation package has been to provide health insurance, but eventually we will have to find something less expensive (to the town) and less generous (to its employees)," Post said, adding that the current formula is "unsustainable."
"The staff is already aware that this will be addressed in 2017. Workshops will start in December."
Post said he expects health insurance costs to go up about 2 percent in 2017, although the tentative budget allows for a 12-percent increase to cover possible changes in employee status throughout the year. He said the board will be negotiating with both union (Batavia Town Employees Union) and non-union employees to come up with a more equitable payment plan.
When asked about the level of compensation throughout the town's organization, Post said that salary, health insurance, pension contributions, vacation time, etc., factor into the pay scale.
"One thing that stands out is that the staff here is the community's biggest asset," he said. "We've seen a 40-percent increase in the assessed value in this town over the past 10 years. The return on our investment (to employees) has been tremendous."
In a related development, Post shared a report from Daniel Lang, codes official, that indicated the town has received a more favorable rating from the Insurance Services Office, action that could lead to reduced liability insurance premiums for homeowners and business owners. This new rating, from a 9 to a 4 (the best score is 1), is for all one- and two-family dwellings and for all commercial and industrial buildings in the town.
The ISO is an organization that tracks property and casualty insurance risk, evaluates and rates a community’s ability to handle fires.
In other action, the board:
-- Set public hearings for Nov. 9 in connection with sewer rates (7 p.m.) water rates (7:05 p.m.) and the town budget (7:30 p.m.) for 2017.
The proposed rates for Sewer Districts No. 1 and No. 2 in the town are $6.13 per 1,000 gallons, a 10-percent increase from the 2016 rates. The water rates would go up by about 3 percent, with the base rate set at $5.10 per 1,000 gallons and the agriculture rate set at $3.73 per 1,000 gallons.
As previously reported first on The Batavian, the town's projected tax rate for 2017 is $2.64 per thousand of assessed valuation, up from the $1.42 rate in 2016. The tentative budget calls for a tax levy of $1 million.
Per public hearing notice guidelines, proposed salaries for the elected public officials in the town are as follows:
Supervisor -- $30,000
Deputy Supervisor -- $15,000
Councilpersons (3) -- $10,000
Town Clerk/Tax Collector -- $66,229
Highway Superintendent -- $18,035
Town Justices (2) -- $25,235
-- Transferred $89,600 from the unappropriated unexpended fund balance to cover additional equipment, water meter and meter reading instruments for both water and sewer districts in 2016.
-- Allocated $9,237 as the town's share to support Genesee County school districts' 2017 summer recreation programs. Batavia will receive $3,442, followed by Pembroke ($2,080), Oakfield-Alabama ($997), and Elba, Byron-Bergen and Alexander ($906 each).
Deputy Supervisor Dan Underhill (due to the death of his father, David) and Councilwoman Patti Michalak were absent.
