ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and the Corporation Counsel with a Request to ADOPT an ORDINANCE Amending CHAPTER 2 (Administration), Article V (Officers and Employees), Division 7 (Public Safety Benefits), Section 2-350 (PUBLIC SAFETY BENEFITS ACT) of the CODE of the City of Peoria.
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BACKGROUND: For more than a decade, municipalities, and specifically their taxpayers, have been shouldering the ever-growing costs associated with the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act (PSEBA). PSEBA was enacted in 1997 and serves an important role in protecting the well-being of public safety officers who have suffered extreme injury or death in the line of duty. The intent of the legislation aligns with the goals of all municipalities: to do what is right for severely or fatally injured employees. Unfortunately, determinations on eligibility for PSEBA benefits have been loosened due to the lack of a clear definition of a "catastrophic injury" as referenced in the act. This has led to frequent abuse of the system and results in awards that do not actually recognize a "catastrophic injury," but are none-the-less costly to municipalities.
While the City already had a procedure for reviewing and processing PSEBA cases, the concept was developed to utilize recent court cases as an avenue for improvising the administrative procedures for assessing PSEBA cases, while simultaneously establishing a definition of "catastrophic injury." This Amended Ordinance establishes a definition of "catastrophic injury," clarifies that applicants awarded a pension under the occupational disease act are not eligible for PSEBA, designates the city's high-deductible plan as the health insurance plan offered and requires reimbursement to the City for any applicant who is receiving health insurance benefits elsewhere.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: This Amendment will result in substantial savings to the City.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: None.
IMPACT IF APPROVED: Ability ...
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