By John Howell Sr.
Vice-Mayor Teddy Morrow presided during Tuesday’s meeting of Batesville city government after Mayor Jerry Autrey was sidelined with the flu.

Morrow and the four other aldermen — Bill Dugger, Stan Harrison, Ted Stewart and Eddie Nabors — met at 1 p.m. in an adjourned meeting before beginning the regularly scheduled First Tuesday meeting at 2 p.m. The day’s final adjournment came after 5 p.m. — four long hours after they started.

Brad Clark of Clark Insurance brought good news to city officials — the group rate for medical insurance for municipal employees will go down by 15 percent when the new policy year begins May 1. Clark’s agency represents Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Mississippi’s medical insurance coverage for city employees.

Clark said that the insurer’s claims experience with the city had contributed to the decline as had more employee participation in “Healthy You” annual physical examinations.

Brad Camp, agent/consultant for MWG Employer Services, Inc. with whom Clark is affiliated, told the vice mayor that employee participation in the Healthy You exams was “up about 40 percent. That’s helped us on claims,” Camp said. “Your department heads are encouraging participation.”

Clark said that employee premiums have from dropped from $477 per employee in 2010 to $320 per employee in 2014. The city pays the employee’s premium. Spouse and dependent coverage is paid by the employee.

“You could go out and find another company and make this cheaper,” Clark said, naming options for the elected officials to consider before making a final decision. Clark named one company that would likely quote a lower premium. However, most local doctors don’t accept that company, Clark said.

Clark told aldermen they could consider a partial self insurance program, prompting his lengthy description through many minutes of meeting time as he described the potential  advantages and risks that would be associated with such a move. The monologue lulled the reporter into a brief nod that was broken when his penned dropped into the chair beside him, waking him in time to hear aldermen instruct Clark that they would give him a decision on or before the March 18 meeting.

Fully alert after strong coffee, the reporter observed the following decisions and reports:
• Aldermen gave unanimous approval following public hearings to Mike Moore for a two-year conditional use permit that will allow him to sell crawfish on weekends during the season and also to allow the building of Panola Masonic Lodge #6A to be rezoned from R-7 to C-1 to permit commercial use The Batesville Planning Commission had recommended both actions. Robbie Haley appeared on behalf of Mike Moore; Greg Franklin represented the Panola Masonic Lodge for its request;
• The city officials gave unanimous approval to construct a gas line along Hoskins Road to Goodhaven. Gas department superintendent William Wilson said that three homeowners had indicated intentions to tie in to the city gas line when it reached their property. Construction of the $8,000 line will begin when three householders have paid deposits for the service. City officials believe that other householders reached by the new pipe will also want the fuel when it becomes available;
• Water superintendent Mike Ross got the go-ahead from aldermen to purchase a new pickup for meter readers’ use. Ross brought quotes ranging from $17,502 to $21,882 for the pickups. Aldermen selected the low bid that had been submitted by Hallmark Ford of Batesville.