The Babbitt city council got a late start to Tuesday’s meeting, due to another special meeting prior. The meeting ran nearly three hours from there.
Retiree health insurance was on the agenda. Cathy Hoheisel started by asking about a conflict of interest with Mayor Andrea Zupancich whose daughter, Kirsten Traut, works in the clerk’s office.
Attorney Joel Lewicki said no conflict existed, however, Zupancich said she would abstain from voting if necessary.
The issue is a change from averaging health insurance premiums versus the actual cost per employee which is higher for older employees. Hoheisel said this is a change from over 50 years of tradition.
Hoheisel said city clerk Nancy Sanford made false statements about the monies she received which she said was $27,500 plus $9,000 “a far cry from $85,000.” She said it was “absolutely offensive that Nancy stated the insurance payments were unauthorized.”
Hoheisel said she based her financial decisions on the average based method for insurance premiums. She said the premiums for her and Kathy Vraa she believed they would be able to keep the lower rates until they reach age 65.
Council member Jim Lassi said it was legal for governments to make special retirement provisions. He said he would like to see the city stay with the original agreement with Hoheisel and Vraa.
Sanford said she believed the numbers she cited were accurate. Sanford said the $85,000 included Vraa’s wages as well and that the time span included more than one year. Hoheisel said that’s not what had been stated.
“I would pay 100% of the average premium which is what every other retiree paid,” said Hoheisel.
Council member Joe White said this was a decision was made by a prior council and that a verbal contract was made. White said he didn’t want to start a trend by overriding past councils.
Sanford said the premiums are listed out by the cost for each employee.
"Yes they are but we average them together," said Hoheisel. "I want to caution the council on going back and looking at other councils," said White.
Sanford said the cost to the city is $12,000 a year. Hoheisel disagreed and said she has seven months left, Vraa said she has 15 months left.
Zupancich called for a motion for the resolution which would change the policy from averaging the pre miums and with no one offering a motion, the issue died.
The campground was next up on the agenda, and Sanford said the candidate for the host position declined the position based on compensation. The council voted to increase the compensation to $37,000 from $35,000.
At 6 p.m. the council switched to a truth in taxation meeting.
Resident Tim Skager asked why the levy is increasing and that his proposed property taxes are going up $200. Lossing said expenses are going up from fuel to materials "all that goes up." He said the city can either raise taxes or cut services. "We're giving the city money to do a job and the city is not doing the job," said Skager, citing culverts that haven't been cleaned out. Zupancich explained to another resident Charolette O’Brien that increases in the value of a property is not part of the meeting and has
to be addressed in the spring at the Board of Appeals and Equaliza - tion. Yet, discussion on valuations continued.
Lossing said his house went from $146,000 to $186,000 after a house on his street sold for $236,000. White said his house value went from $96,000 to $240,000 in three years.
Lossing advised the two dozen people in the audience to contact the county assessor and make an appointment for them to see the inside of their house in an attempt to get a valuation lowered. Brenda Evancevich said the increase in property values are pricing retired people out of town.
"It'll be a town for the young with a school that is basically empty," said. "There's a lot of people in town that can't afford this 20 percent increase." Lossing said the levy increase could be between 18 and 20 per cent. He said in the past there were years when the levy was zero or three percent and now the city is playing catch up.
"Maybe three percent isn't enough on an annual basis maybe it should be six or seven percent," said Lossing.
Zupancich said another budget meeting will be held on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. to go through the budget again. She said the final levy will be set at the Dec. 16 meeting and is currently at 20 percent.
