Evanston lawmakers are considering a compensation package that would increase their salaries by 50 percent but eliminate the low-cost health insurance they have had for years.
A committee appointed by Mayor Lorraine Morton to review the City Council’s compensation has recommended an increase in salaries from $10,000 to $15,000 a year for aldermen and $17,000 to $21,000 for the mayor, said committee member Hollis Settles.
Aldermen and the mayor are the only part-time city workers offered health-care coverage, Settles said, and their cost has not increased much in 20 years. He said they pay monthly premiums of $31 to $37.25 for family coverage.
He said that is significantly below the rates paid by full-time city workers, including firefighters and police officers, who have seen their health-insurance premiums skyrocket in recent years.
The panel recommended that the city pay 85 percent of single coverage but said aldermen should pay 100 percent of their family coverage, Settles said.
Family health-insurance premiums could jump to $827 a month for HMO coverage and $1,287 a month for PPO coverage if the recommendations are followed, he said.
“They do a lot of work, and we felt they are entitled to an increase,” Settles said. “But on the other end, they are receiving a real perk considering the amount they pay for medical benefits.”
The council is expected to vote on the compensation package by early October. City staff members said seven of the nine aldermen get health insurance through the municipality.
Ald. Edmund Moran (6th), who is covered under the city’s health-insurance plan, said he would have to spend $400 to $500 a month to buy similar coverage on his own.
“There is no doubt the city coverage is a good benefit for myself and my wife,” Moran said.
Settles said that if the City Council rejects the panel’s recommendations, aldermen’s salaries would increase from $10,000 to $10,600, which he said is in line with municipalities such as Skokie and Arlington Heights.
The mayor would get a similar cost-of-living increase. Settles said the pay increase would be effective with the 2005 municipal election.
“We looked at comparable cities in the area,” Settles said. “We felt the aldermen were getting a break as to medical premiums, considering they’re part-time employees.”
Other aldermen say their jobs are closer to full time than part time. Ald. Arthur Newman said he receives 10 calls a day from constituents and spends 20 hours a week or more on aldermanic duties.
“There is a lot of time away from my family, sometimes four nights a week. That’s a lot of time to put in after you worked a regular day,” Newman said.
