the Comptroller, on the form provided by the Human Resources Department, with
due consideration of the budgetary limitations in Paragraph C, above.
E. Satisfactory completion of all educational courses shall be
documented in the personnel records of each employee.
F. For purposes of determining participation in specialty educational
courses/classes, the administration shall make available such courses/classes and
proportion attendance between officers and firefights at a 1:5 ratio (officers to fire
fighters) provided nothing shall prohibit the administration from varying this ratio
if there are insufficient numbers from either group to meet the ratio.
Article 32 - INSURANCE
A.1. Subject to the provisions of this Article, the City, upon the request of
an eligible member, shall provide to an employee the amount of the premium
specified below for individual, two-person or family plan, of one of the following:
Point of Service (“POS”) Plan;
Health Maintenance Organization (“HMO”) Plan;
High Deductible Health Plan with Health Savings Account (“HDHP w/HSA”); or
The City may make additional plans available to members with benefit levels and
premium cost sharing determined by the City in its sole discretion.
The option of the health care plan is at the sole discretion of the City. It is agreed
by all parties that the City reserves and shall have the right to change insurance
carriers provided the benefits to participants are comparable and the City elects the
least expensive plan available to provide such benefits.
Should the City determine that it 1s in the best interests of the City to offer a
“comparable” plan to either option “a”, “b” or “c”, it shall provide at least one
hundred twenty (120) days prior written notice to the Union and documentation of
the cost to members and the benefits that will provided under the comparable plan.
Should the Union determine that the proposed plan is not comparable, the
grievance shall not be subject to the grievance procedure and shall be submitted
directly for arbitration no later than thirty (30) days after the Union 1s notified of
the proposed change to the comparable plan. The grievance shall be heard in an
expedited manner. The decision of the arbitrator shall be binding on both parties.
50
