BEAVERTON CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING
JULY 30, 2007

CALL TO ORDER:

The Special Meeting of the Beaverton City Council was called to order by Mayor Rob Drake in the third floor Mayors Conference Room, 4755 SW Griffith Drive, Beaverton, Oregon, on Monday, July 30, 2007, at 4:05 p.m.

ROLL CALL:

Present were Mayor Drake, Couns. Betty Bode, Bruce Dalrymple, Dennis Doyle (through telephone conference call) and Cathy Stanton.  Coun. Catherine Arnold was excused.  Also present were City Attorney Alan Rappleyea, Assistant City Attorney Bill Scheiderich, Chief of Staff Linda Adlard, Finance Director Patrick O'Claire, Police Chief David Bishop and City Recorder Sue Nelson.

CONSENT AGENDA:

Coun. Stanton MOVED, SECONDED by Coun. Bode, that the Consent Agenda be approved as follows:

07161  Ratify Tentative Contract Agreement with SEIU Local 503

Coun. Doyle thanked staff and the Union for coming to an agreement and avoiding possible tumult within the City.  He said he was very appreciative of that and he would support the motion.

Coun. Stanton asked if it was correct that under Kaiser Insurance, the City was providing  fully-paid medical insurance for employees and their dependents.

Assistant City Attorney Bill Scheiderich indicated that was correct.

Coun. Bode said this agreement was good for the employees and the City.  She said everyone needed to be aware of the continuing rise in medical insurance premiums; she said making this equitable and fair, within the City’s available budget, would be a challenge for everyone in the future.  She said she supported this settlement.

Coun. Dalrymple said that he was pleased to see, from a public standpoint in terms of the negotiations for the health care issues, that the public sector was able to get the kinds of insurance rates that they were able to achieve as compared to the private sector.  He said it was outstanding that the City was able to achieve such good results for health care.  He said he would support the motion.
Coun. Stanton confirmed this was a two-year contract.  She asked if there would always be two-year contracts.

Mayor Drake said this time it just worked out this way.  He said this contract would dovetail with the Police Association contract and both would need to be negotiated again in two years.  He said the length of the contract was always negotiable. 

Coun. Stanton said she was glad the City expanded the list of relatives covered by the agreement.

Mayor Drake said the City was not an island; it was part of a much bigger health care issue in this country for working families, the poor and the elderly.  He said some of the challenges faced with this contract involved working within that framework.  He said as he looked at his fellow elected officials, they were all getting closer to retirement and they would become part of the post-war baby boom that would swell the need for senior care.  He said this would not be the last time the City wrestled with this issue.  He said the system needs to be fixed for the entire country and as the City negotiates with the employees, these are difficult issues because the City was reflective of society as a whole.

Question called on the motion.  Couns. Bode, Dalrymple, Doyle and Stanton voting AYE, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.  (4:0)

ADJOURNMENT: 

There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m.

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Sue Nelson, City Recorder

 

 

APPROVAL:

Approved this 13th day of August, 2007.

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Rob Drake, Mayor