Agenda - Council - 02/23/2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Benefits Faced with an 18% increase in health insurance premiums, in the fall of 2009, the City began a campaign to educate employees about deductible plans. Deductible plans are typically less expensive than co -pay plans and they offer greater opportunity for employers and employees to share costs. In addition, they provide employees with a larger role in healthcare decision - making which can result in better overall employee health and cost savings as employees evaluate service providers and the need for certain services. An early sign of success for the City is that an extensive education campaign, offering attractive plan designs, and the City's health insurance contribution have contributed to an increase in employee enrollment in deductible plans from 37% in 2009 to 89% in January 2010. Employee Wellness In the summer of 2009, the City held a Wellness Fair that offered a presentation that educated employees on various approaches or paths to individual success and wellness through simple everyday actions. Blood pressure screenings and ergonomic work station assessments were part of the day as well as the customary healthy potluck lunch for staff to enjoy. The fall Wellness Fair focused on H1N1 flu awareness, a topic that was presented by Anoka County's Community Health and Environmental Services Department. The Wellness Fair also included a low impact workout and a fun and intellectually challenging scavenger hunt. Employee feedback regarding wellness programming continued to be positive in 2009. In 2010, the Human Resources Division will begin formally assessing the impact of wellness programming on employee health and engagement. Labor Relations In 2009, the City entered the second year of two -year agreements with LELS Sergeants, LELS Patrol and AFSCME. The contracts provided a 3% cost of living adjustment for 2009 and a reopener for the City's 2009 health insurance contribution. The City is currently in mediation with LELS Patrol and AFSCME and is seeking two -year agreement for 2010 and 2011. Information Technology 2009 saw the implementation of the new e- Agenda process for Council and Board agendas. Staff was successfully able to greatly reduce the number of paper copies of agendas and make them available electronically for council and staff. IT successfully installed and implemented a new Helpdesk application for both IT and Building Maintenance. This new application has helped staff better track issues they have by submitting a helpdesk ticket. Problems can be tracked and IT can update the status and start building a knowledge base for the future. In 2009, most of the Nextel Blackberry's were exchanged for new models due to end of product line. IT also upgraded the Blackberry Enterprise Server software and improved the efficiency of email, calendar, and contact synchronization. In 2009, the city began pursuing services for a redesign of the city's website. The current website was developed and put in place nearly 8 years ago. While it has served the city well, the new website will offer many new online options and will make navigation much easier and faster. City of Ramsey Page 8 2009 Annual Report