Operating Staff Council Meeting
Present:
Susie Ericson-West, Chair
Sheila Kirby, Vice-chair
Cecil Maxfield, Recorder
Deb Ford, Treasurer
Deb Barrett
Deb Logan
Deb Williams
Dee Denehy
Ro Dettelback
Kim Harkness, HR director
Special Guest: President Anne Huot
Absent: Tim Garland, Doug Adler
Approve Minutes:
Minutes approved from OS Council Retreat of June, 2013. 8 in favor, one abstention
Treasurer’s Report:
OS General Budget
$9,290.00
KSC Operating Staff Internally Designated Fund
$622.33
Operating Staff Dependent Scholarship
$33,260.76
HR Updates:
*** Open Enrollment Benefits Fair and Healthy Returns Program are scheduled for 18 October. Mark your calendars, show up and be healthy.
*** Harvard Pilgrim Health Care scheduled for 1 October, to hold session(s) to explain the to-be-rolled-out-in-January-2014 ‘Choice Plan’, a high-deductible healthcare plan option, which may make some sense for those in the enviable position of having no health care issues/concerns, but who still will need to be covered by health care insurance as mandated by the Affordable Care Act. People will need to assess their own needs to decide if this new option is something which could help them save money.
*** Keep your eyes and ears open for sessions on the Affordable Care Act and what it may mean for you and yours. Sessions will not be scheduled until after Open Enrollment period is over.
*** Upcoming benefit to be added to healthcare plan options: a voluntary vision plan to help cover costs (among other things) of eyeglasses. Presumably would be another small deduction, pre-tax, from biweekly pay.
*** We are reminded to remind our constituents of the upcoming end of the period in which HRA (Health Reimbursement Account) monies must be spent (or face losing the value of any monies left in those accounts). Those accounts must be emptied by 12/31/13.
*** With the overturning of a key section of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act), USNH employees with same-sex spouses were relieved of the burden of the “imputed income” they were being taxed on if those spouses were covered by the USNH plan for medical and dental benefits. There are numerous issues which need to be addressed to un-do the impact of that imputed income, going back as far as 2010; the latest issue to be taken up by USNH-HR concerns revising W2 forms for those affected by the imputed income (both current and past employees of USNH). Couples affected by this issue have the opportunity to re-do their tax returns for the years 2010-2012 with amendments which reflect the removal of imputed income from their W2s. It is expected that USNH-HR will take this up at a meeting scheduled for next week (9/16-20).
*** R+30 (Registration plus 30 days) is coming up. This is a time when we understand just how many of our enrolled students are sticking with us for the semester. This determines what can be planned on for incoming revenue, and may loosely affect what may be available for pay increases. Budgeted for increases is 3%; this amount will also be used to address range inequities.
Update on Supplemental Insurance Program (Sheila Kirby):
Human Resources and Operating Staff Council Survey on Supplemental Insurance was taken; 96 total respondents. 58 out of 95 indicated interest in learning more about supplemental insurance. An AFLAC representative gave a presentation to campus on August 8 (AFLAC is #1 in the supplemental insurance business).
A group pricing handout was distributed to OS Council. Individual pricing is available at a higher rate. Currently, USNH does not offer a pre-tax deduction to pay premiums, should one elect to take supplemental insurance. In order for USNH employees to get best rates, they would need to have a group rate (such as USNH), and USNH would have to be willing to incorporate the premium deductions (on a pre-tax basis) in to the system which currently takes out automatic deductions. In order to do that, we need Presidential support/approval, to advance the idea through SPPC and then, presumably on to approval and incorporation as a deduction any USNH employee could opt for.
AFLAC material was passed along to President Huot at the end of her visit; she will read it over and ask for input from colleagues at System. She is supportive of the idea of safeguarding one’s healthcare dollars.
Committee Reports:
Report from Deb Ford on behalf of Founders Day Committee (with input from Ro Dettelback), on need to keep funding for Founders Day at $4500. Detailed accounting of how those dollars were spent last year. For the past few years, Council has voted to move an additional $1500 (from the general fund) over to the budgeted $3000 set aside for Founders Day. We need to make this a permanent situation, so a motion was made to adjust the permanent budget for Founders Day to $4500, with the understanding of where the additional $1500 is coming from. Motion passed unanimously. Money in OS accounts, except that we have raised ourselves, goes back in to General Fund at the end of each fiscal year, and new allocations are made available at the beginning of each fiscal year (July 1).
Meeting was adjourned by unanimous vote at 12:10 PM.
