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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-03-06 Disability Board Minutes MEMBERS PRESENT: Ken Jones, Board Chair Gary McComas, Board Member Will Chen, Council Member Chris Eck, Council Member Jim Distelhorst, Citizen-at-Large ABSENT N/A STAFF PRESENT: Emily Wagener, Sr. HR Analyst MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC PRESENT: None CALL TO ORDER: Board Chair Ken Jones called the meeting to order at 11:03 AM. Chair Jones welcomed newly appointed Council Member Chris Eck to the board. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES a. From the 07/22/2024 Regular Meeting (minutes are unavailable) Chair Jones noted that the 7/22/2024 minutes were still unavailable and could not be approved. b. From the 11/07/2024 Regular Meeting Chair Jones made a motion to approve the meeting minutes from the 11/07/2024 regular meeting, as amended. Board Member Gary McComas seconded; the motion carried. c. From the 01/30/2025 Special Meeting Chair Jones made a motion to approve the meeting minutes from the 1/30/2025 special meeting, as submitted. Board Member McComas seconded; the motion carried. DISCUSS AND APPROVE CLAIMS SUMMARY REPORT a. For 10/01/2024 – 12/31/2024 b. For 01/01/2024 – 12/31/2024 (Budget Summary) The board discussed both agenda items together. EDMONDS’ DISABILITY BOARD Meeting Minutes Regular Meeting 03/06/2025 @ 11:00 am Edmonds Disability Board – 03.06.2025 Page 2 of 5 Chair Jones explained that, based on the claims summary and budget summary, while there were more claims and associated expenses during Q4 of 2024 the overall YTD expenses were slightly less in 2024 than they were in 2023. There was some discussion among the board about what might cause the change in expenses, some of which include the death of a LEOFF 1 member, changes to long term care services and the timing of the submission of reimbursement requests. Chair Jones made a motion to approve the Claims Summary Report for the period of 10/01/2024 – 12/31/2024 (Q4 2024) as submitted. Council Member Chris Eck seconded; the motion carried. BUSINESS a. Updated Members List Chair Jones reviewed the members list and indicated that his term would be expiring on 4/30/2025 and confirmed that he would run for reelection. Chair Jones noted that Board Member Gary McComas’ term expired on 4/30/2024 and that while this subject had come up at the July 2024 meeting, because the minutes were unavailable, the resolution was not known. Chair Jones confirmed that Gary McComas was willing to run for reelection. Chair Jones asked Sr. HR Analyst to reach out to LEOFF1 Members and move forward with an election process. Chair Jones noted that Citizen-at-Large Jim Distelhorst’s term expired as of 10/01/2024 but that at the July meeting he was reappointed. Sr. HR Analyst Emily Wagener stated that she would update the members’ list but since the July 2024 minutes are unavailable, asked the board to make a new motion for the record of Jim’s reappointment. Chair Jones made a motion to reappoint Citizen-at-Large Jim Distelhorst for another two- year term as was previously voted on by the board in July 2024. Council Member Eck seconded; the motion passed with four (4) voting “yes” and Citizen-at-Large Jim Distelhorst abstaining. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener clarified that Chris Eck, the newly appointed Council Member took over Council Member Neil Tibbott’s remaining appointment, through 12/31/2025, as Council Member Tibbott was no longer able to serve on the board, and new council members may be appointed as of 1/1/2026. b. Disability Board Overview Chair Jones provided a summary overview of the Edmonds Disability Board for the benefit of the newly appointed Council Member, Chris Eck. c. Draft Annual COLA Increases Policy (2024) Chair Jones explained that the Annual COLA Increase Policy was approved at the July 2024 meeting and would have been effective at that time but noted that it was a DRAFT policy. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener stated that this was another item from the July 2024 meeting of which minutes are unavailable and asked the board to make a new motion to reaffirm the adoption of the policy. Edmonds Disability Board – 03.06.2025 Page 3 of 5 Chair Jones made a motion to adopt the Annual COLA Increase Policy (drafted in 2024) as was previously voted on by the board in July 2024. Board Member McComas seconded; the motion passed unanimously. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener asked the board to clarify if the intention was for the reimbursement cap to increase with the LEOFF 1 COLA on April 1st of each year or to apply the increase retroactively to the beginning of the calendar year. There was discussion among the board regarding the policy and the board indicated the preference was for it to be effective as of April 1st and apply annually to April 1 – March 31. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener asked the board if they wanted the policy brought back each year with the increased COLA or if it could be automatically adjusted by HR. Chair Jones indicated that the board would prefer the policy to be updated automatically by HR but that the revised policy be provided to the board following the update with no board approval required. d. LEOFF 1 Member Request for Dental Expenses (from the 11/7/2024 meeting) Sr. HR Analyst Wagener explained this request was brought back from the 11/7/2024 meeting. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener added that with the approval of the Annual COLA Increase Policy HR could approve an additional $38.64 but that board approval was needed for the overage amount of $73.07. There was some discussion among the board regarding this request. Council Member Eck made a motion, based on precedent, to approve the requested Dental Reimbursement of $73.07. Board Member McComas seconded; the motion passed unanimously. e. LEOFF 1 Member Request for Additional LTC Expense Chair Jones discussed that this request was based on some additional expenses that this member required that exceeded the Board’s pre-approved amount for long-term care expenses, directly related to a medical event outside of regular care. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener explained that the extra care is $813.00 per month and the total amount the member is seeking reimbursement for is $1,214.15, which includes part of January and all of February, and that additional care is no longer needed as of March. Chair Jones made a motion to approve the requested LTC Reimbursement of $1,214.15. Board Member McComas seconded; the motion passed unanimously. f. LEOFF 1 Member Request for Annual Healthcare Membership Fee Chair Jones indicated that this member’s provider requires a membership in order to get services from them which is $250 per year. There was some discussion among the board about membership fee based medical services and their likelihood of becoming more common. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener explained that this was something she had seen in other areas of HR and that the board may want to consider a separate policy to cover reimbursement requests for this type of service. The board was in general agreement over the need for a policy for this type of reimbursement. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener explained to the board that HR found this member had submitted and been reimbursed for this expense before but that no record was found of it being approved by Edmonds Disability Board – 03.06.2025 Page 4 of 5 the board. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener added that in 2023 the member joined and paid a prorated membership of $75.00 and in 2024 the member paid $250 and both were reimbursed. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener asked that if the board approves the current reimbursement, they also consider confirming approval for the past, already reimbursed expenses. Chair Jones made a motion to approve the following: 1 – The reimbursement request for the 2025 Annual healthcare membership fee of $250; 2 - Retroactively, the reimbursements already paid for the 2023 and 2024 Annual Healthcare Membership fees, totaling $325; and 3 - The Board adopt a new policy to address Healthcare Membership Fees with a cap of $250 per year. Council Member Eck seconded; the motion passed with four (4) voting “yes” and Council Member Will Chen voting “no”. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener confirmed that she would work with legal and bring a draft policy to a future regular meeting. g. LEOFF 1 Member Request for Hearing Aids Sr. HR Analyst Wagener confirmed that this member had no previous records of hearing aid purchases. There was some discussion among the board about the request noting that the documentation was in order and in line with the Board’s policy. Chair Jones made a motion to approve the requested Hearing Aid Reimbursement of $1,499.99. Board Member McComas seconded; the motion passed unanimously. h. LEOFF 1 Member Request for Reimbursement for Medical Services (Counseling) There was some discussion about this request including that it appeared the provider used does not accept Medicare. Chair Jones made a motion to approve the requested Medical Services reimbursement of $375.00. Council Member Eck seconded; the motion passed with four (4) voting “yes” and Council Member Chen abstaining. Council Member Chen made a motion to extend the meeting until 12:15 PM. Chair Jones seconded; the motion carried unanimously. Other a. Regional Fire Authority Annexation (discussion) There was some discussion among the board about the Regional Fire Authority Annexation. Council Member Chen noted that this was still in process and the vote will happen on April 22, 2025. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener said she would confirm the number of LEOFF 1 members and how many were from Fire and how many were from Police. There was a question on what would happen to the Fire LEOFF 1 members in the event the RFA passed and if Edmonds would retain those LEOFF 1 Members or if they would move to the RFA. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener confirmed she would reach out to get more information about this and bring it to the board. b. Next Meeting Edmonds Disability Board – 03.06.2025 Page 5 of 5 The board agreed to work on scheduling the next meeting via email which would take place sometime in April 2025. Sr. HR Analyst Wagener will look into Chair Jones ability to attend the conference in Chelan for 2025. Adjourn Chair Jones adjourned the meeting at 12:15 p.m.