Culver City : Health Subsidy Idea Scuttled

The City Council has dropped a proposal to subsidize health insurance costs for former council members who do not qualify for retirement coverage under the city’s health benefit plan, after being advised by the city attorney that such a subsidy would be unconstitutional.

The council last month approved in concept a policy that would have provided former council members with payments of more than $130 a month, intended to be applied toward health insurance, if they did not qualify for coverage under the Public Employees Retirement System.

The proposal was prompted by a letter from former Councilman Richard Brundo, asking whether the city could include him in its group health plan. Brundo does not qualify for retirement coverage because he was under age 50 when he left office.

The subsidy idea was dropped in response to a March 9 memo from City Atty. Eleanor M. Egan stating that the state Constitution prohibits elected bodies from granting extra compensation to public officers for past service.