Health insurance approved for council members in 4-3 vote

KYLE — At its March 19 meeting, Kyle City Council approved an ordinance to amend the city’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget to allow council members access to the health insurance program.

The item also included reallocating funds that are currently used for mileage reimbursement to a $300 monthly mileage stipend for council members.

Several residents spoke against the item during citizen comments, stating that there is no need for the city to take on this expense.

“You’re asking for a benefit that other part-time employees do not have,” said Stephanie McDonald, a concerned citizen. “Kyle has got a lot of dire needs and I think that money could be used toward that, like our roads and our water.”

According to Assistant City Manager Jesse Elizondo, council requested staff to do a study on council compensation and bring it back. Currently, council members receive $1,000 per month, while the mayor receives $1,300, and they also receive a $500 monthly stipend for expenses. Council members do have access to the city’s health insurance through Ordinance 1043, but it is at the full price, which is deducted from their monthly salary.

If council members were to adopt the $300 mileage stipend, it would be “budget neutral,” explained Elizondo, meaning that it will not affect the budget.

Mayor Travis Mitchell began by stating that the argument can be made that council should not be compensated because it should be treated as a part-time job, but he explained that he has worked with two types of council members over the years: those that study for the agenda and show up every other Tuesday and those that put in a lot of effort and are impacted financially because of it.

“I’ve always felt that council members should be paid in such a way that the amount of compensation that comes to them is never so much that they would run for city council, so that they could be compensated for the money or for the benefits,” the mayor said. “I’ve also felt that council members should never be paid so little that the average resident is prevented from running for council because the sacrifice required to do the job right causes them to struggle to maintain full time employment. At the center of that is health insurance.”

Mitchell continued by stating that the job of a council member is unique, due to various meetings being “all over the place. It’s morning, noon and night,” making it difficult to maintain full-time employment for some. So, he is in support of insurance being provided. He also believes that the stipend is most likely due to the immense amount of paperwork that is required for the mileage reimbursement that staff has to deal with.

Council member Daniela Parsley added that in regards to the stipend, it seems that the city is attempting to avoid the charter, so they should wait until August 2025 for a new compensation committee to determine if there should be a change in payment.

Council member Miguel Zuniga agreed stating, “It’s my opinion, and only my opinion, that I should not be the decision maker on my council compensation, as I believe the charter has established an avenue for that.”

“Attempting to circumvent the city’s charter to increase council compensation does not make you smart. It makes you a thief among thieves, for which there could be no honor,” said former council member Yvonne Flores-Cale during citizen comments.

For health insurance, Parsley suggested a 50% discount because the city should not have the burden of paying the full amount for a council member.

“This was my choice to run for city council. Nobody told me that I had to be forced to do this. It is my choice to stay up late hours receiving phone calls referencing [the health insurance agenda item] being that I work and am up at four in the morning,” said council member Michael Tobias before motioning to deny the item, which failed due to the lack of a second.

In the same light, council member Bear Heiser agreed that it was his choice to run for council and he knew what he was getting into, but he “did it anyway because serving is something I always knew that I wanted to do … [But] I think of what health insurance would mean for myself and my family and some of the other folks who are sitting up here on this dais. It would mean a lot and make a big impact.”

Council member Robert Rizo said that he has three full-time jobs, has health insurance and that he has seen a lot of “crazy things” on the dais. He mentioned that at one point, someone asked for benefits for the mayor because they wanted to run for mayor and other instances, but that this is different. Having health insurance would be great to have for future council members that, eventually, will have to work full-time in order to create success in the city.

The item passed 4-3 without the mileage stipend, with Tobias, Parsley and Zuniga dissenting.