Clare City Commission ratifies Teamsters contract
After a very brief closed session Monday, Clare City Commissioners approved a nearly four-year wage and benefit contract with the Teamsters.
The term of the new contract is from July 1, 2009 to April 30, 2013 and it includes a three percent increase in wages (retroactive to July 1) for each of the first three years and a 2.5 percent increase for the remaining nine months of the contract. It also changes health benefits from a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan to a Teamsters sponsored Blue Cross Blue Shield health care plan.
The union includes Department of Public Works employees, Waste Water and Water Treatment Plant workers, administrative employees and one department head, WWTP Supervisor John Holland.
The new health care program will cost the City six percent less than last year and stipulates a six percent annual increase for the duration of the program. The City’s present plan has increased an average of 12 percent each year, Clare City Manager Ken Hibl said. The plan is also available for the City management group and most department heads will use it, he added.
Although negotiations have been ongoing since June, “there were no major issues,” Hibl reported. “In fact the City Commission had already approved the new contract in June, with the health care changes proposed by representatives of the Teamsters. The employees, who had questions about the new health care plan, did not ratify the contract until the third week in October.
In another matter, tempers flared briefly when City Commissioner Tom Koch publicly thanked Hibl for removing an Industrial Development proposal to apply for grant funds to purchase property at the north end of the City for an IDC park.
Commissioner Bill Horwood accused Koch of “making a speech for the newspapers,” and said, “I believe we should wait until something is brought before us to discuss it.”
Koch said, as a commissioner, and during “Commission Discussion Topics” on the agenda, he could discuss anything he wanted to. He said the grant application would apply only to the property on the north side of the city and mean they would have “to stick to purchasing it.” He suggested at workshop to look at the matter.
Other business at the Clare City Commission meeting Monday included:
*Recognition of Warren McGuire and designating November 4 to honor him.
*Recognition of retiring Air Force Colonel Mike Humphrey and designation of November 9 to honor him.
*Recognition of 35-year veteran Firefighter Jay Kleinhardt.
*Re-appointment of Jan Winter for three years to the Clare Planning Commission.
*A second reading and adoption of changes to the zoning ordinance guidelines for downtown design including building colors and second story projecting signs.
*Approval of a resolution of support for continuing Public, Education and Government Channel 26.
*A report from Treasurer Steven Kingsbury including a preliminary graph of assessed and taxable values in the city. He reported an average annual increase of 5.7 percent in Assessed Values and a 4.7 percent annual increase in Taxable Value between 1995 and 2010. He estimated the preliminary 2010 total assessed value for the city at $102,691,900.
*Main Street Manager Lori Schuh reported two new businesses in the downtown area, Spyder Submission and Alma Wholesale Bakery.
*In his City Manager’s report Hibl said the new Well Number 9 has been drilled and will be online in about a month.
