Glen Cove City Council changes benefit rules

The Glen Cove City Council has lengthened the time nonunion employees need to work in government in order to receive retirement health insurance coverage — to 10 years from five.

Under the rules approved Tuesday night, those employees will also need to work full time for a minimum of five years in Glen Cove. The new rules affect employees hired after Jan. 1, 2015.

The council also voted to require nonunion employees hired after January 2012 and eligible for retirement health insurance to pay 10 percent of the premiums.

“It’s a small step, but it’s a start,” said Mayor Reginald Spinello. “The costs of running a municipality, the expense of medical insurance, grow and grow, and the city’s ability to grow revenue is obviously not comparable.”

Spinello said the only current employees who would be affected by the 10 percent premium rules were himself, his secretary and Deputy Mayor Barbara Peebles.

The city pays more than $5 million annually for health insurance, $2 million of which is coverage for retirees and their families, Spinello said. He also said the city has absorbed the long-term retiree insurance costs for employees who have spent the bulk of their career outside of Glen Cove.

Spinello first proposed the changes at the Feb. 11 council meeting, but they were tabled after several members said they needed more discussion.