NATCHEZ — City of Natchez employees may soon pay more out of pocket for health coverage to offset a 19% increase in insurance costs, officials said.

During a special-called meeting Monday, the Natchez Mayor and Board of Aldermen discussed changes to their City Employee Health Plan through L.S. & Associates which could result in employees paying approximately $24 more per month for single coverage and $60 per month more for family coverage.

Alderman Dan Dillard — who attended Monday’s meeting via teleconference call—said the higher employee contribution could decrease the city’s annual cost for insurance from approximately $205,000 to $105,000.

“Last year, there were more claims than the premium and the increase in the cost was around 19%,” Dillard said. “To mitigate that, the city is going to contribute most of that cost but the employees may be asked to contribute an additional $24 a month from the $8 a month they were paying for just employee — and that would increase respectively for employee and spouse to whole family coverage. … Those are small numbers, but the city has over 200 employees and it adds up. … If you look at what the total cost to the city is, the employees’ contribution at $24 a month is as manageable as we can get it.”

During Monday’s meeting, Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux Mathis said she had understood that the city would lower the cost to employees when they renewed the plan with L.S. & Associates.

Mathis said she discussed utilizing savings from vacant police and firemen’s positions and postponing repairs to the City Hall roof to offset the expense.

“I thought our objective was to get the employee contribution down,” Mathis said.

With Alderwoman Sarah Carter Smith and Alderman Ben Davis absent, the board postponed the discussion until the next regularly scheduled meeting Oct. 8 so they could further address the employee health insurance with a broker from L.S. & Associates present, officials said.

No actions pertaining to employee health insurance were taken during Monday’s meeting.

In other matters during Monday’s special-called meeting of the Natchez Board of Aldermen, the board:

4Unanimously approved an amended budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year that reflects actualized revenues and expenditures as of Sept. 30 before the 2019-2020 budget cycle begins Oct. 1. The 2018-2019 budget reflects total expenditures of $32,411,969 and total revenues of $34,472,747.