The Flower Hill Board of Trustees held their monthly meeting on Jan. 6
Luke Feeney
The Village of Flower Hill Board of Trustees is looking to incentivize their employees to opt-out of their insurance plan.
The plan passed unanimously in a vote by the Flower Hill Board of Trustees during their Jan. 6 meeting.
Under the plan, individuals who opt out of their insurance plans will receive $3,000, paid in three-month periods. Those with a village family insurance plan who choose to opt-out will receive $4,000 with payments in the same structure as long as proof of another insurance plan is provided to the village.
Rosenbaum said the incentive could save Flower Hill $13,000 a year in total for individual plans and $32,000 a year in total for family plans.
It currently costs the village over $40,000 for a family insurance plan. With the employee paying 10% of that cost, the total village expense for an employee with family insurance is $36,372, according to Flower Hill Mayor Randall Rosenbaum.
For an employee with an individual plan, Flower Hill currently pays $17,070 with the employee paying for 10%. The total expense for the village is roughly $16,000, according to Rosenbaum.
He said that numerous villages, including Manorhaven, have similar policies in place. John Popeleski, Manorhaven’s mayor, was in attendance during the meeting.
The board held an executive session before its Jan. 6 meeting to go over some of the financial numbers of the proposal.
“By offering this incentive, it can save the village a decent amount of money,” Rosenbaum said. One of the largest increasing expenses for Flower Hill year after year has been the cost of employee health insurance plans, according to Rosenbaum.
In other news, the village certified March 18 as the date of the upcoming village election; the board also discussed proposed laws to regulate the process of dividing land into smaller areas for development as well as proposed changes for altering the zoning designations.
In addition, the board held two public hearings, one a site plan application for construction on 1025 Northern Blvd. and a hearing regarding changing a local law about the duration of time people are allowed to maintain construction pods on their property.
The village also provided an update on blocking covered concealed or obscured license plates on cars.
In September, legislation passed by the state made it illegal to use license plate covers, with fines of up to $500 for violators, as part of the state’s efforts to tackle toll evasion as well as ensuring drivers are paying their fair share for the use of public infrastructure.
The board also finalized its 2025 contract with the Roslyn Fire Department. The next meeting is Feb. 3.