Behold the Budget Buster

We're going to wade into budget week slowly. We know all too well how cold the water is this time of year, and diving in is just not advised. It'll stop your heart and all that.

So, to sort of get used to it, here's a little story on health insurance, or, how to try to tame a ridiculous budget buster. The mayor is rolling a bunch of new plans that will cost the city (and the employee) less, while offering same or better services (although that's probably in the eye of the beholder in some cases). From the info from the Mayor's Office, once switch from one Blue Cross plan to the other would save a family like $4,800 a year. That should cover the lack of raise, no?

Health insurance costs are going up 12 percent for the city this year, or over $1 million. Basically, any new dollar the city taking in next year over this year is gone to health insurance. So, new inflationary costs and step raises and all that stuff need to get funded somewhere else. Or, you have a $5 million hole (which, I am now obsessively reminding one and all, includes $500,000 for the stabilization fund).

So, take a gander at the health insurance situation, in all its bloated, crippling glory. And when you get bored of my constant babbling about how there's a fundamental problem between stagnant revenues and increasing costs, remember this as a not-so-shining example.

It's going to be a busy week. Let's go.