Trish Headley. Jeremy Shrodes. Mike Reese.
Those three employees of the City of Martins Ferry also are union members of Local 1260 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. About two years ago, according to Martins Ferry Councilman Jack Regis, Headley, Shrodes, and Reese were negotiating insurance premiums with two different providers, and a decision they made resulted in huge savings to the city.
However, Regis only just found out the details of that decision this week.
“I was in a meeting (Thursday), and we got on to the topic of our insurance for the city employees, and about two years ago the city’s union representatives were in negotiations with two different companies,” Regis explained on River Talk-Wheeling 100.1 FM. “Three of our people went to Canton to see what was possible, and they said it didn’t appear that the company’s proposal would not have supplied a saving to the city. When they returned, they saw the quote for the new policy from the carrier we had at the time and saw that it was going up by 39 percent.
“That’s when they returned to Canton, and they jumped through all of the hoops to do everything they had to, and they saved the city in the neighborhood of $500,000 per year,” he said. “When that took place, no one even heard about it. Council didn’t even hear about it.”
Plus, the new policy with Medical Mutual included a feature the former provider did not offer.
“As a part of this new policy, the city gets what the insurance industry refers to as ‘holidays,’ and what that is there are months that are free because the city paid so much to a certain point,” Regis said. “So, the first year with that company we got one month free, and then the second year we received two months for free. It’s unbelievable how much that policy helps us get through the entire year without having to worry about laying off anyone.
“We’ve had to do that in the past during the final two months of the year because of finances,” he continued. “No one likes to make those kinds of decisions, and now we don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
No More Silence
One reason why members of Martins Ferry City Council were not informed of the new insurance deal was that they were preparing for new Mayor John Davis after he defeated Bob Krajnyak for the position by just 46 votes.
Davis had served on Council and as service director before becoming the mayor so Regis and his council colleagues were consumed with the transition and with negotiating with the new owner of East Ohio Regional Hospital.
“That was a very busy time for us; I remember that for sure,” Regis said. “We knew that if the hospital reopened, it would help the city of Martins Ferry tremendously, and that’s why I concentrated on that more than anything.”
But now? EORH now is operating with more employees than expected, road crews have worked diligently this winter, and Regis is heralding the dedication displayed by Headley, Shrodes, and Reese.
“It was just great what they did, but they never received any credit for it because they didn’t say anything more than what they had to,” Regis said. “I wish I would have found out about it then because I would have thanked them very publicly so they were appreciated the way they should have been two years. But that’s why I am making a point to do that now because they deserve a ton of credit.
“If those three employees were not as dedicated as they are, the City of Martins Ferry would be in a lot of trouble today because we would have lost a lot of employees,” he said. “What they did took place right around when John Davies was taking over as mayor for Bob Krajnyak, so my best guess is that the news about the new policy got lost in the transition somehow. Those three never asked for any fanfare, and they might be upset for me bringing this up, but I think they deserve credit, and I want to make sure they get it.”
And that is why Regis plans to continue informing as many residents as possible.
“I really want the residents and taxpayers of Martins Ferry to know who they have working for them. Not only are they out there working hard for the people in the city, but they aren’t letting things get by them either, and that’s how they were able to take care of this insurance issue. They knew it would hurt a lot of people, and that’s why they went out on their own and found the right answer.
“A 39 percent increase? That would have crippled us,” he insisted. “That would have impacted every department in the city, so thank God they helped us avoid what would have been a very bad situation.”
