March 2, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City Council Moves to Demolish Properties, Hears Good News on the Health Insurance Front
DECATUR - The Decatur City Council on Monday voted unanimously to proceed with the process of trying to demolish 24 problem properties in the city.
The council voted 5-0, with two absent, in favor of taking action against the list of unsafe structures, the second step in the demolition process which follows the posting of the structures as unfit. Deeming a property as unfit does not guarantee demolition, however, as the city must provide property owners with due process when moving to demolish a property and due to the fact that sometimes other arrangements are made to rectify the property situation.
It is important to note that the city does not take ownership of the lots once demolition takes place and does not always control what happens to the vacant lot. The city can and has taken required legal steps in the past to take ownership of some of the lots which have been transferred to other owners as part of the city's side yard program in many cases for less than $500 per lot.
The City of Decatur has consistently pursued and moved forward with demolitions over the last several years, having brought before the council 100 actual demolitions in 2006, 126 in 2007 and 105 demos in 2008.
The city council on Monday also heard a presentation regarding the last 12 months of the city's health insurance plan.
The City began utilizing Behnke Insurance/BlueCross Blue Shield to administer its health insurance program with service discounts provided through the Blue Cross network in January 2008. Since the switch, the city has realized a savings of $755,150 over 2007 in what the city actually paid for claims because of the discounts.
To gauge the true performance of the new health insurance arrangement it is important to review the total medical insurance fund performance which includes several types of revenues and expenses above and beyond claims. These include contributions by employees and the employer, interest income, administration fees and other items. Total medical insurance fund expenses decreased last year by $868,574 over 2007 which will allow the city to recognize a medical insurance fund savings next fiscal year due to lower medical insurance premiums being charged.
For more information contact Billy Tyus at 424-2753.