City of Sycamore City Council met Aug. 3.
Here is the agenda provided by the council:
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. INVOCATION
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
5. AUDIENCE TO VISITORS
6. CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approval of the Minutes for the Regular City Council Meeting of July 20, 2020.
B. Approval of the Closed Session Minutes for the Meetings of January 21, 2020; March 16, 2020; and May 18, 2020.
C. Approval to Destroy the Auditory Tapes from the Closed Session City Council Meetings during the period from August 20, 2018 through January 7, 2019.
D. Payment of the Bills for August 3, 2020.
7. PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND BILLS
8. REPORTS OF OFFICERS
9. REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES
10. PUBLIC HEARINGS—None
11. ORDINANCES—None
12. RESOLUTIONS
A. Resolution No. 841—A Resolution Requesting a Permit from the Illinois Department of Transportation to Allow for the Construction of a Traffic Signal Related Improvements at Illinois Route 23 and Mt. Hunger Road.
This resolution is required by the State of Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to allow the placement of traffic signals and other related improvements at the intersection of IL Route 23 (Main Street) and Mt. Hunger Road. The improvements, as detailed within the final engineering plans, include the placement of traffic signals, crosswalks, and pavement improvements. These improvements are the responsibility of Old Mill Park LLC, as part of the Development Agreement for Old Mill Park, with a 28% reimbursement by the City. Work will be performed by a contractor selected by the developer and is subject to inspection and approval of IDOT and the City of Sycamore.
IDOT requires the City to serve as the applicant on the permit application for these improvements. Completion is guaranteed by a Letter of Credit furnished by Old Mill Park LLC and held by the City. IDOT also requires the $50,000 guarantee be in place for a term of five years. Once the improvements are complete and accepted, Old Mill Park LLC will keep a balance on the Letter of Credit to match this requirement.
City Council approval is recommended.
13. CONSIDERATIONS
A. Consideration of a Recommendation from the Public Works Department to Award the Bid for the Cracksealing Project as Part of the 2020 Street Maintenance Program to SKC Construction Inc of West Dundee, Illinois in the Amount of not to Exceed $135,000.00.
In an effort to extend the useful life of streets, the City has implemented maintenance methods such as cracksealing and pavement rejuvenator. Since 2014, the street maintenance program has included an annual allocation for cracksealing which covers between thirty to fifty sections of various streets. This year’s program includes conventional cracksealing as well as the use of a fiber modified cracksealing material on roadways that are scheduled for microsurfacing in 2021.
Bids for cracksealing were opened on Friday July 24th, 2020, with a total of four bids submitted. The Engineer’s estimate for the outlined scope of work was $120,550.00. Bidding amongst the three low bidders was extremely competitive and the City received a much lower price for fiber modified cracksealing than was anticipated and based on previous projects.
| Plan: HSA | No. | Current | Renewal |
| Employee | 6 | $810.80 | $794.36 |
| Employee/Spouse | 3 | $1,665.95 | $1,703.23 |
| Employee/Children | 6 | $1,571.95 | $1,634.26 |
| Family | 36 | $2,427.10 | $2,543.14 |
| Total | 51 | $106,669.95 | $111,234.45 |
| lan: HMO | No. | Current | Renewal |
| Employee | 1 | $757.77 | $742.33 |
| Employee/Spouse | 0 | $1,556.98 | $1,591.69 |
| Employee/Children | 0 | $1,469.12 | $1,527.24 |
| Family | 4 | $2,268.34 | $2,376.60 |
| Total | 5 | $9,831.13 | $10,248.73 |
| Plan: PPO | No. | Current | Renewal |
| Employee | 6 | $948.69 | $913.44 |
| Employee/Spouse | 22 | $1,949.27 | $1,958.58 |
| Employee/Children | 7 | $1,839.27 | $1,879.27 |
| Family | 19 | $2,839.87 | $2,924.41 |
| Total | 54 | $115,408.50 | $117,288.08 |
| Total | 110 | $231,909.58 | $238,771.26 |
| Percentage | 2.96% |
The Public Works Department has reviewed the bids and recommends to award the bid to the lowest responsible bidder, SKC Construction Inc. of West Dundee, IL. Staff also recommends the contract is modified to $110,000, the budgeted amount, to allow for additional streets to be added to the project, with ability to authorize up to an additional $25,000 based on the contractor’s ability to complete this work prior to October 30th or inclement weather.
City Council approval is recommended.
B. Consideration of a Recommendation to Award the Contract for a Sanitary Sewer Smoke Testing to RJN Group out of Wheaton, IL in the Amount of $35,759.04.
Per the IEPA requirements, the City of Sycamore has instituted an annual sewer maintenance program. The goal of this project is to minimize sewer backups and the treatment of inflow and infiltration into the sewer system.
This year’s budgeted expenditures include the rehabilitation of existing equipment, sewer repairs, and smoke testing of sanitary sewers. Smoke testing is a commonly used technique where non-toxic liquid smoke is pushed into the sanitary sewer. Leaks or illegal connections to the sewer are evidenced by the leaking of smoke from the sewer system. Smoke identifies inflow locations where there is a direct path for water to quickly flow into the system. This information is then used to complete repairs or rehab to the system.
The smoke testing will be completed in August and September when waterways are low when the ground is dry and the smoke can easily escape. Last year, the selected contractor completed mailers, door hangers, signs, and prepared public notices. The goal is to ensure that residents are aware of the testing and minimize or eliminate calls to the City’s emergency services. This same process will be used this year.
Since these are professional services, four members of City staff reviewed the qualifications using a scoring system based on; qualifications of the firm, project manager, field staff as well as previous project experience and completeness of the submittal. This year the City received two bids. The consensus of the group is RJN Group of Wheaton, IL is the most qualified firm. The company’s Project Manager has 25 years of experience and RJN will use the same project team that performed last year’s project. The proposal to complete the work is $35,759.04 including all testing, notifications, and documentation.
After review, the Public Works Staff recommends award of the smoke testing contract to RJN Group out of Wheaton, Illinois in the amount of $35,759.04.
City Council approval is recommended.
C. Consideration of an Administration Recommendation Regarding Health Insurance Coverage for Active and Retired City Employees.
The City’s new plan year for group insurance policies begins on September 1, 2020. By category, the renewal rates and recommendations are as follows:
Basic Health Insurance:
The City’s insurance broker solicited health insurance quotes from our current provider Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BCBS). Typically, the City reaches out to the current provider to get a benchmark for that year’s renewal. Given that the City’s plan is “grandfathered” and the initial renewal numbers were below budget and industry standards, the decision was made to work to negotiate an even better deal with BCBS. After negotiating with BCBS, the grandfathered renewal was reduced to 2.96%, which is significantly lower than the industry standard of roughly 6-7% for grandfathered renewals.
The City offers three medical plan types: HSA, HMO and PPO:
HSA or Health Savings Account is an account that reimburses employees for specific health care expenses. HSAs can be funded by the employee, an employer or anyone else. The money contributed to an HSA belongs to the account owner and can be used to cover eligible current or future medical expenses. The HSA currently has 51 participants.
HMO or Health Maintenance Organization is a type of health benefits plan for which members are required to receive health care only from providers that are part of the HMO network. A primary care physician coordinates each member’s health care. Services (except emergency care) performed by out-of-network providers aren’t covered except under specific circumstances. Currently there are five participants in the HMO plan.
PPO or Preferred Provider Organization is a Plan that allows members to choose any provider but offers higher levels of coverage if members receive services from health care providers in the plan’s PPO network. This year there were 54 employees plus their dependents who have elected to participate in the PPO.
The effective monthly rate based on the Blue Cross renewal is calculated based on the number of participants in each plan as shown below:
In terms of actual cost, the HMO is the most economical plan followed by the HSA and then the traditional PPO plan. For this reason, staff proposes that the City continue to fund 100% of the deductible for HSA participants, which is $1,500 for a single participant and $3,000 for a family along the same level of incentive for HMO participants. With 100% deductible funding in the HSA plan and the same incentive for employees participating in the HMO plan, the City will save approximately $49,000 in premium based on the current census. If more employees elect one of these more economical plans the savings would be even greater.
The renewals were based upon the following:
✓ The City had seven large claims over $50,000.
✓ Generic prescription utilization is 79%.
✓ Mail order prescriptions have increased in utilization.
✓ Health care reform continues to bring about changes that may affect our future
insurance coverage and premium rates. The City’s Director of Human and Administrative Resources will continue to monitor this and keep the City informed.
The proposed Blue Cross rates are spread in the table below, by type:
| PPO Plan | Plan Year 19-20 Monthly Premium | Plan Year 20- 21 Monthly Premium | % of 2019-20 | Employer Monthly | Employer Annually | Employee monthly | Employee Biweekly | Employee per year | Total Annual premium |
| EMPLOYEE | $948.69 | $913.44 | -3.72% | $905.11 | $10,861.28 | $8.33 | $3.85 | $100.00 | $10,961.28 |
| Employee + Spouse | $1,949.27 | $1,958.58 | 0.48% | $1,801.81 | $21,621.71 | $156.77 | $72.36 | $1,881.25 | $23,502.96 |
| Employee + Children | $1,839.27 | $1,879.27 | 2.17% | $1,734.40 | $20,812.75 | $144.87 | $66.87 | $1,738.49 | $22,551.24 |
| Family | $2,839.87 | $2,924.41 | 2.98% | $2,622.76 | $31,473.17 | $301.65 | $139.22 | $3,619.75 | $35,092.92 |
| HSA Plan | Plan Year 19-20 Monthly Premium | Plan Year 20- 21 Monthly Premium | % of 2019-20 | Employer Monthly | Employer Annually | Employee monthly | Employee Biweekly | Employee per year | Total Annual premium |
| EMPLOYEE | $810.80 | $794.36 | -2.03% | $786.03 | $9,432.32 | $8.33 | $3.85 | $100.00 | $9,532.32 |
| Employee + Spouse | $1,665.95 | $1,703.23 | 2.24% | $1,566.90 | $18,802.79 | $136.33 | $62.92 | $1,635.97 | $20,438.76 |
| Employee + Children | $1,571.95 | $1,634.26 | 3.96% | $1,508.28 | $18,099.30 | $125.99 | $58.15 | $1,511.82 | $19,611.12 |
| Family | $2,427.10 | $2,543.14 | 4.78% | $2,280.82 | $27,369.88 | $262.32 | $121.07 | $3,147.80 | $30,517.68 |
| HMO Plan | Plan Year 19-20 Monthly Premium | Plan Year 20- 21 Monthly Premium | % of 2019-20 | Employer Monthly | Employer Annually | Employee monthly | Employee Biweekly | Employee per year | Total Annual premium |
| EMPLOYEE | $757.77 | $742.33 | -2.04% | $734.00 | $8,807.96 | $8.33 | $3.85 | $100.00 | $8,907.96 |
| Employee + Spouse | $1,556.98 | $1,591.69 | 2.23% | $1,464.29 | $17,571.43 | $127.40 | $58.80 | $1,528.85 | $19,100.28 |
| Employee + Children | $1,469.12 | $1,527.24 | 3.96% | $1,409.50 | $16,914.04 | $117.74 | $54.34 | $1,412.84 | $18,326.88 |
| Family | $2,269.34 | $2,376.60 | 4.73% | $2,131.46 | $25,577.51 | $245.14 | $113.14 | $2,941.69 | $28,519.20 |
The City’s Health Insurance Committee was provided updates by the Director of Human and Administrative Resources on July 17, 2020 to review proposals and recommended continuing the same coverage with the Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan for health coverage.
Retirees 65 and over:
Coverage is provided through Hartford Insurance, and does not renew until January 1, 2021. The current monthly rate is $527.93 per person per month. The retiree group is a combination of employees hired prior to 1982 and 1986 who have varying benefit levels based on the terms of employment when they were hired. Per state law, employees may elect continued coverage after retirement, however the retiree must pay the full cost of the coverage.
Dental, Vision, Life, AD&D (Accident, Dismemberment & Disability):
Currently Blue Cross/Blue Shield carries the City’s dental coverage. After negotiations, the final renewal rate came in at an increase of 7%. This rate is a direct result of increased utilization for major dental services this past two years.
Dearborn National, a subsidiary of Blue Cross/Blue Shield is the carrier for vision insurance. The City’s plan is currently entering year three of a four-year flat rate guarantee.
With respect to Life, Dismemberment and Disability, coverage is with Dearborn National as well and a flat rate renewal was negotiated for the coming year.
Bundling all of these services with BCBS and their subsidiary companies provides an additional discount on the health coverage.
IRS Section 125/Flexible Spending:
This year the City received a competitive quote from Diversified Benefit Services to administer flexible spending accounts. The City has been using TASC, which provided a renewal rate of $135.86 a month, whereas Diversified Benefit Services has quoted a monthly fee of $95. Both companies offer the same line of services at no additional charge. The Insurance Committee recommended to switch to Diversified Benefit Services at this time.
Short Term Disability:
Short Term Disability will continue to be administered by the Director of Human and Administrative Resources. By not outsourcing this benefit the past few years the City has saved thousands of dollars on administrative fees and premiums.
The City Manager concurs with the Health Insurance Committee and recommends the proposals submitted by Blue Cross Blue Shield for health insurance and dental coverage and Dearborn Life for vision and life insurance. It is also recommended that the Council continue to fund 100% of the deductible as an incentive for employees to continue to choose the HSA and HMO plans, as it will result in a savings for both the City and employee.
City Council approval is recommended.
14. OTHER NEW BUSINESS
15. APPOINTMENTS
16. ADJOURNMENT
https://cityofsycamore.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cc20200803a.pdf
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