Oct. 5—JEFFERSONVILLE — The Jeffersonville City Council failed to reach an agreement Monday on the a resolution to update city employee benefits for the coming year.
The resolution, which includes adding Juneteenth and Columbus Day as paid holidays and lowering the number of years of service for vacation accrual time, was tabled after a lengthy discussion, much of which centered around benefits for elected officials and their spouses after their terms have been served.
If approved as written, any former elected official who had served two consecutive terms (eight years) and was enrolled in health insurance benefits as of Jan. 1, 2017, as well as their spouse, would be eligible for continued insurance until they either started receiving other insurance or became eligible for Medicare due to age or disability.
The change would add the spouse to this benefit, and is modeled after the city's police and fire collective bargaining agreement.
But some council members, including President Matt Owen, expressed concerns that the benefits would be eligible for the former elected officials and their spouses after only eight years of service, not 20 as outlined in the police and fire agreement. They also had questions about how long they could end up paying out if the elected official was younger or whether the benefits would continue if the official became eligible for Medicare before their spouse.
In a 5-4 vote, the council also narrowly denied a mandate that would have required certain new developments over a certain number of units to provide electric car charging stations, despite a favorable recommendation from the city planning commission to do so.
The proposed changes, which were included in an amendment to the unified development ordinance passed earlier this year, called for at least one electric vehicle charging station for new multi-family units with more than 50 units, and new hotels with more than 50 required parking spaces. For each additional 50 spaces, there would be a requirement for at least one space pre-wired for a future charging station.
The proposal would add more spaces for electric vehicles in Jeffersonville, and followed a plan the city has to install one in the 100 block of east Chestnut Street near shops and restaurants. Each cost $4,000 to install.
"We're in uncharted territory; it is the future," said Council Member Steve Webb, who was one of four members to vote in favor of the amendment.
Council President Owen said he wasn't in favor of forcing the installations, and asked whether developers might not take it upon themselves to install the stations as the market called for it. Council Member Scottie Maples agreed, saying it was a "government mandate I don't agree with," he said.