Politics & Government

Hartland Township Board Restructures Pay, Benefits for Workers

Additional wages, bonuses, benefits approved while workers see higher health care costs.

Most Hartland Township employees will receive wage increases, more retirement money and a one-time bonus, but they also will pay more for their own health care and other benefits under a plan the Township Board approved Tuesday with a 4-2 vote.

The approved plan will cost the township as much as $40,000 this year and $29,000 in future years. Employees now would have to contribute $7,700 for insurance premiums and pay as much as $400 more in annual deductibles. Had no action been taken, the township faced a 24.5 percent increase in premiums that would have cost an additional $8,800.

With the township now enjoying a more than $4 million surplus in its general and capital improvement funds, it can well afford the additional costs without any new taxes or fees. But the decision over wages follows some two years of discussions on the issue in a community where a strong belief in fiscal restraint sometimes clashes with whether and how to increase services in a township that grew 30 percent in population since 2000.

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Township Manager James Wickman said the plan allows the township to switch to a lower cost health plan while rewarding employees who have been under a wage freeze since 2010 and some of whom lost pay when hours were reduced in 2009 as the economy struggled. Wickman says the pay and benefits are fair and help keep and attract skilled workers while remaining fiscally prudent.

"Bottom line is folks have stayed with us and have worked hard and we've accomplished quite a bit," Wickman said. "I had said at the time if we instituted those wage freezes that we had any ability to revisit compensation that if there was anything we could do for those folks who have stuck through for us, I'd like to do that.

Find out what's happening in Hartlandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"This is not fully retroactive. It's shorter than that. It's sort of a middle of the road proposal that I made to folks to provide a reward for those employees."

The Vote

Some board members asked several questions during a discussion to clarify the proposal — which also affects the benefits of Clerk Larry Hopkins and Treasurer Kathie Horning who both work full-time — but no one took a position until a vote.

Hopkins, Horning and trustees Matt Germane and Glenn Harper voted for the plan. Supervisor Bill Fountain and Trustee Joe Colaianne voted against it. Trustee Joe Petrucci was absent.

Fountain and Colaianne declined to comment after the meeting on why they opposed the plan.

The Plan

  • WAGES AND BONUSES: 12 workers will receive wage increases between 1 percent and 4.75 percent based on merit and the same group will also receive a one-time bonus for longevity and merit that equals 1 percent to 4.75 percent of their 2010 wages. Some newly hired workers aren't eligible for these increases.
  • RETIREMENT: The township will match employees on a 3-to-1 basis in a 401(a) defined contribution retirement plan up to 6 percent of annual pay. Before, the township paid a flat $75 a month.
  • HEALTH, DENTAL, LIFE AND DISABILITY: Employees will now pay 20 percent of health, dental, vision, disability and life insurance premiums. Previously, the workers paid 10 percent of the health care premiums while the township paid 100 percent of the premiums for the other benefits. Workers can opt out of the coverage and receive a payment that ranges from $250-$300 a month. And those participating receive a township contribution into a health savings account of either $1,600 for individuals or $3,200 for couples or families annually to help cover their higher deductibles. Those funds rollover year-to-year and and follow the employee when they leave the township's employment.
  • MANAGER AND FULL-TIME ELECTED OFFICIALS: Under the plan, Hopkins, Horning and Wickman see no pay increases, but face the new costs for health care. They also are eligible to receive the new benefits for retirement and the health savings account. Later in the meeting, Germane requested that elected official salaries be discussed during in a future meeting, noting officials have not had an increase in "many, many years." Wickman said elected officials also have researched pay in similar-sized communities and discovered officials here are paid less.


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