North Canton Can No longer Afford Cadillac Benefits for Part-time Elected Officials

The personalities that are receiving the health benefits are not the focus of the
Initiative Petition. The purpose was to bring compensation levels into the reality that we are all living today. Misinformation, partial information and/or spin are not going to be helpful in this issue. The fact is the cost of the premiums alone to provide health care to all eight part-time elected officials totals $111,335.04 per year. 

Whether or not some current part-time elected officials have decided not to enroll in North Canton’s city-paid health coverage is not an accurate reflection of the
possible total cost to the taxpayers of North Canton. For the individuals who have declined the health care benefits offered to them, I thank them for recognizing the city’s fiscal plight.

Beyond the cost of health care premiums that are borne by North Canton taxpayers, there is the added cost of the health care claims that are submitted to the city which could easily result in tens of thousands of dollars over and above the
cost of the health care premiums.

Massillon, Alliance, Louisville, and Canal Fulton have never provided health care benefits to their part-time elected officials and I suspect that the reason they have
not is that they never had a “Hoover Company” in their community. Well, I am
sorry to advise anybody that does not already know it but North Canton no longer has the Hoover Company in its community either. 

It has been four years since the Hoover Company closed and left town and income
tax collections in North Canton are still down over one million dollars. North Canton City Council should have ended city-paid health insurance for part-time
elected officials as soon as they knew that the Hoover Company was leaving
town. 

Where can one go in this country and attend meetings lasting one to two hours, four times a month and receive full family health care benefits? Many working
Americans do not receive health care benefits for full-time employment and/or
pay hefty premiums out of their own pocket for health care coverage. 

Here in North Canton we have part-time safety forces (police, fire, and EMS) who we all know are working more than eight hours a month but they receive no city-paid health care coverage.

The Held Administration and City Council have been negotiating over the last few
years with the Unions representing city employees and asking for concessions to
labor contracts. 

Shouldn’t City Council lead by example? 

And what concession would they give up that would truly be a concession? Is it a
concession to give up health care benefits that they receive from taxpayers when they already have health care benefits from their full-time employer? 

To North Canton part-time elected officials, I ask are you here to serve as public
servants for the betterment of the community or are you holding public office to serve yourselves?

The fiscal crisis for North Canton can only get worse with the reduction in Local
Government Funds coming from Columbus and the ending of the estate tax. 

North Canton can no longer afford Cadillac benefits for North Canton’s part-time
elected officials. The Hoover Company has left town. The gravy train days are
history.