Township to pay more for employee health benefits in 2027

Sept. 1 township trustees meeting

by Melissa Martin

Hinckley Township trustees approved legislation to renew medical, dental and vision insurance for all full-time township employees and elected officials through Sept. 30, 2027.

Fiscal Officer Richard Fay told the board the township will incur a 2.5% increase in costs over the next year with its medical insurance provider, Medical Mutual. Additionally, he said, the township will see a 7.9% increase in costs from dental insurance provider Ameritas.

There is no change in the cost of the township’s vision insurance for the next year, Fay said.

“[In today’s market], 2.5% is very, very good,” Fay told the board, noting that the increase in medical insurance premiums will cost the township approximately $9,900 more per month, while the rising cost of dental insurance will tack on another $1,400 per month.

Fay said employees will pay $1.70 more per paycheck for individual medical insurance coverage and $5.07 per pay for family coverage.

Fay said 27 township employees currently qualify for insurance benefits and 24 are signed up to receive them over the next year.

Stony Hill resurfacing

Township Service Superintendent Mike Behary told the board the Stony Hill Road resurfacing project got underway Sept. 1 with milling and grading. He told the board that unexpected foundation repairs were needed, which would raise project costs slightly to pay for another 20 tons of asphalt.

“We’re going to do a repair on each side of the road in both directions for the entire span of the road (between Weymouth Road and state Route 303),” Behary said, adding that the road was starting to unravel quite a bit, even under the places where the township has filled in recent months. “This way, we get longevity out of this road. We’ll do the repairs and we’ll know it’s going to be good for a while.”

Behary said the project is expected to be complete by mid-September.

In other news, Trustee Russ Paintiff Jr. said the Medina County Engineer’s Office has recommended that the township install cul-de-sacs at the end of several dead-end township roadways.

Paintiff said the idea is to create a turnaround for emergency vehicles, similar to what was constructed on Forest Drive.

“Right now, fire trucks have to back out all the way down the road and that’s not a real good idea,” Paintiff said.

Paintiff told the board he and Behary plan to meet with the county engineer in the coming weeks to develop a plan.

Trustees also:

• Accepted a $5,000 grant for cemetery repairs awarded for fiscal year 2027 that will be used to repair the Maple Cemetery holding house.
• Said the survey to be distributed by the Comprehensive Plan Committee has gone to the printers and should be in the mailboxes of township residents by the end of September. The surveys have a return date of Oct. 15. Residents can either mail them to town hall or a drop box will be available at town hall.