Council authorizes employee insurance order; member urges competitive bids
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Summary
The council approved an order authorizing employee health‑insurance plans and COBRA options for current and former employees; one council member urged staff to seek competitive bids and noted past problems switching carriers.
The Meridian City Council approved an order authorizing employee health‑insurance plans and COBRA options for current and former city employees; the item passed as recorded by the chair after discussion.
During discussion a council member said the council should “have options to bid” and expressed concern that the city had not used a competitive procurement process in recent insurance selections. The council member noted past problems when the city changed carriers from UnitedHealthcare to Blue Cross Blue Shield and urged that competitive bids be sought moving forward.
Council recorded the motion and second during the consent agenda and then voted; the chair announced the vote result as “Aye. Those opposed, nay. For 1,” which indicates at least one dissenting vote was recorded on this item. The meeting transcript did not provide a roll‑call with member names for the vote.
The council did not direct staff to award a contract to a particular insurer at this meeting. Staff or a broker was referenced as the entity that procures benefits, but the transcript did not record a commitment to a specific procurement method beyond the council member’s request to seek competitive bids for future insurance procurements.