City ends required employee deduction

The Vernon City Commission rolled back an employee required contribution for employee health insurance, during a meeting Monday night.
City Manager Marty Mangum told the commission that several years ago, during a budget crisis, the city began requiring city employees to contribute $21.50 per pay period toward employee-only health insurance. Mangum said in one year that had built the fund’s balance up by $229,898 – from $460,540 to $690,438.
He said the auditor requested they keep $300,000 in the fund. Mangum said that the Employee Benefit Trust Committee recommended doing away with the required contribution, as the fund looked to still increase by $45,700 this year without it.
“Do we want to give back what we took when we were in trouble?” Mangum asked the commission.

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