Borough employees get break on insurance contribution
By KAREN BITNER Echo Pilot

Greencastle Borough Council set a date for trick-or-treating and decided to give borough employees a treat as well during Monday's regular monthly meeting.

After approving Oct. 25 as the night for costumed children to throng the streets, Council also approved a proposal to roll back the percentage that employees must contribute for health insurance for dependents to 25 percent, retroactive to July 1, 2007.

Previously, depending on date of hire, although the borough paid the entire cost of each employee's health insurance, some borough employees paid 100 percent of the cost of health insurance for their spouse and children. In recommending the change, borough manager Ken Myers said that the borough paid only about $28,000 for employee dependent in health insurance costs in the past year, an amount councilperson Don Coldsmith praised as "fantastic."

"It is fantastic" Myers agreed, "And it's also shameful if we don't share that savings back to employees," he added, explaining that significant upfront cost savings are due to the borough's membership in a health-care consortium and also to employees being very frugal in the way they chose to seek health care, an assessment echoed by Personnel Subcommittee Chairperson Harold Duffey.

Myers said the current policy of asking new employees to pay 100 percent of dependent health insurance costs turns off potential new employees. Mayor Robert Eberly supported Myers' suggestion, noting that for the lowest-paid employees, paying 100 percent of health insurance costs for family members is a tall order. "Insurance is necessary," Eberly urged. "If you want to negotiate anything, negotiate the wage."

Council approved a proposal that employees pay 25 percent of dependents' health insurance costs, with amounts above 25 percent reimbursed to employees retroactive to July 1 of this year.

During the public discussion period, council heard from borough resident Gladys Griffith of 265 North Carlisle St., who said that trucks from a nearby factory are often piled high with wood shavings without a covering, that the facility has weeds around piles of stored skids, and that work at the factory often begins before 7 a.m.

Police issues

In his mayor's report, Eberly noted that borough full-time police logged 29 overtime hours last month, including 7 1/2 hours of court time. Eberly said another police officer has contacted the borough for employment and may soon be hired part-time, and that police staff had met with Waynesboro police who serve in an advisory capacity. "We have a good relationship," he said.

"Things are going reasonable well," continued Eberly, who has served as de facto head of the police department since the forced resignation of former chief Peter Mozurkevich last month. The mayor added, "I'm hoping council moves swiftly with hiring a full-time officer as well as in the selection of a chief."

Public Safety Subcommittee Chairperson Paul Schemel noted that there have been five applicants for the full-time officer position, as well as great interest in the police chief position. "We now have eight completed applications for a full-time chief," Schemel said, adding that he personally has had "good conversations" with several applicants.

Council unanimously approved a proposal from Public Facilities Chairperson Chris Grimm to grant a request for a handicapped parking spot on East Madison St for a person who lives there.

In his manager's report, Myers noted that pipe placement on South Allison St. would soon be done. "We finally met in the middle," he noted, adding that workers would soon be moving up to South Ridge to complete the project. "Hopefully by this meeting a month from tonight we're hoping they'll be essentially finished," he said.

Engineers from Rettew Associates, a city and municipal engineering service based in Camp Hill, discussed a proposed sidewalk study with council, which voted to authorize the firm to put together a proposal for the study that includes costs.

Trick or treat night in the borough was scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. Council advised that those wishing to participate should turn on their porch lights.

Council ended their meeting on a light note, with Myers asking permission to seeks bids related to sewer replacement on West Baltimore St. Myers explained that one way to get the job done would be to use a pipe-bursting device called a "pig" that drags a new pipe into place as it goes. The other way would be to go down through the manhole and dig up the line, he said.

"So it's a pig or a dig?" Schemel quipped.

Council voted to authorize the bids, and members left the meeting chuckling after borough solicitor Melissa Dively spoke up. "So you pull this pig thing through the pipe," she questioned. "So it's essentially pulled pork, right?"