T.O. Council to Review Medical Benefits

Dec 31, 2010 by Dick.Thomson

Thousand Oaks Mayor Dennis Gillette will ask the City Council to sign off on a review of medical benefits provided to retired council members and their family members at tonightʼs council meeting.

A resolution, passed by the council in 1997, gives council members and qualified family members lifetime medical benefits. The practice recently drew criticism from the Ventura County Taxpayers Association.

Gillette wants the councilʼs Finance/Audit Committee to review the perk, gather data from comparable cities and incorporate potential pieces of legislation under consideration by the state Legislature. The committee, which consists of council members Tom Glancy and Jacqui Irwin, would then present its recommendations to the full council.

“At the time that benefit was developed … and was put in place, it was a very different time economically,” Gillette said. “Itʼs been a long time since the whole issue of benefits for council members has been looked at. It just seemed like the right time now that we have a new council in place to do just that.”

The 1997 resolution allows a council member to receive monthly retiree health insurance benefits if he or she retires through the state Public Employee Retirement System within 120 days of leaving office, has served on the council for at least five years, is at least 50 years old and does not accept a position with another government agency that provides state pension benefits. Family members who qualify for the lifetime medical benefit include spouses, and children 26 and younger.

Currently, one former council member and her spouse receive the benefit as a Medicare supplement insurance user, according to a memo from Gillette to the council. The widows of two council members also receive the benefit.