During Delphi budget discussions last fall, the topic of employee health insurance became one issue council members decided to address in the near future. The consensus of the members was to look at different plans that could provide cost-savings.

In a Nov. 20 work session, council members heard from agent Glendon Wolfe of the Norris Insurance Co. in Flora, who provided insurance information about coverage and payment options.

Council member Randy Strasser, taking the lead to research the issue for city leaders, said he looked at three programs offering "apples to apples" comparison components.

"I kept three things in mind when looking at different programs," Strasser said. "I wanted employees to keep their current doctor pool, I wanted to find out how to minimize employee shared costs and I wanted to reduce the cost to the city with as little impact as possible."

Wolfe, who provided help to Camden and Flora when those communities were discussing benefit packages, described a program which would provide a minimum savings of $93,320 to the city, while keeping the current employee contribution stable. He said the trend is for plans to move towards higher deductibles.

Further discussion is expected at the Dec. 4 council meeting.

Mayor Lee Hoard reported the city personnel policy is under review with attorney Miriam Robeson and the new policies "should be ready by the first of the year."

He said the board of works will be the governmental body to approve the policies.