WILDOMAR: Council tabs Northern California-based insurance provider
Nocito Benefit Insurance Services will provide Wildomar employees with medical, dental vision benefits
By AARON CLAVERIE - Staff Writer | ∞
WILDOMAR ---- A Northern California-based insurance provider, Nocito Benefit Insurance Services, will help the city of Wildomar's future employees secure medical, vision and dental benefits.
Nocito Benefit ---- based in the Sacramento suburb of Carmichael ---- was one of two firms that were identified by city staff as qualified to provide a "full array of benefit programs for current and future city employees."
The other firm, San Bernardino-based Pacific World Insurance Services, features a representative who lives in Wildomar, Jerome Mostero, but a subcommittee of City Council members Marsha Swanson and Sheryl Ade, determined that Nocito Benefit was a better fit for the city.
The rest of the council approved the subcommittee's recommendation during Tuesday's regular meeting, voting 5-0 to ink a deal with Nocito Benefit.
The city has not yet hired its first employee but the city's director of administrative services, Terry Fitzwater, has been tasked with preparing the city for that eventuality.
During the discussion before the vote, Mayor Bob Cashman asked where Nocito Benefit is based.
Cashman was told by Swanson and City Manager John Danielson that the main office is a "plane ride away."
But they said the location of the office won't have an effect on the ability of the city's employees to use local doctors, dentists and health care providers.
That was a key consideration for Swanson, she said during the meeting.
Swanson on Friday said the subcommittee tried to "stay local" and she called Mostero a "very nice gentleman," but she said the only program mentioned by Mostero during the interview was Kaiser Permanente's suite of health plans and services.
In comparison, Vince Nocito of Nocito Benefit offered three different health management organization and preferred provider organization plans.
"It was so much more complete; he gave our employees so much more choice," Swanson said. "At some point, some of these things will come back, but until then, we're looking for the best price and the best people to get us on solid ground before we make some of those changes."
Nocito, contacted Friday at his office, said he will be an advocate for the city's employees, answering any questions about their benefits.
As an independent broker, Nocito said he can offer the employees a wide variety of programs, from medical and dental to vision and long-term disability.
Talking about the distance separating his office from Wildomar, Nocito said it won't be a big deal.
"They selected the firm that they thought could provide them with the best solutions and added value benefits representing the city," he said.
Paula Wilson, owner of a Temecula-based health insurance agency and a member of the Inland Empire Association of Health Underwriters, said she has clients in the Bay Area, so managing benefit programs for a company on the other end of the state shouldn't be a problem for Nocito Benefit.
Wilson said computer programs allow her to look at forms on her clients' computer screens, guiding them through anything that might be confusing while discussing the issue on the phone.
Contact staff writer Aaron Claverie at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or aclaverie@californian.com.
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SacraTomato wrote on Sep 13, 2008 6:34 PM:Gee, first they hire a City Manager run out of Elk Grove, and now a Carmichael insurance provider. Wildomar should just make it easy on everyone and relocate the whole town to Sacramento.
Wildomarian wrote on Sep 14, 2008 8:57 AM:No, we'll commute.Swanson said its just "a plane ride" away and farnam wants a flagpole. we're flying the friendly skies now.....
WILDOMARTIAN wrote on Sep 14, 2008 9:21 AM:Enough of the housekeeping!
The WCC has FIVE seat warmers rubberstamping almost everything that is placed in front of them. And yet, the CITIZENS’ of WILDOMAR mandate of setting up the FIVE voting districts goes unattended! Based on the individual WCC members’ personal backgrounds, they’re all proficient at multi-tasking. It’s about time they apply that talent to the CITIZENS’ MANDATE and actually start earning some respect with its citizens and the surrounding cities, not to mention their salaries!
WildomarWatcher wrote on Sep 14, 2008 10:26 AM:It’s more and more apparent that the city council is out of touch with the economic reality they will have to deal with during the next few years.
Don’t they read? Can’t they see the continuing news on declining house prices, foreclosures and developers’ reluctance to build new projects - all of which will result in less revenue for the city? No, they just keep approving expenditures and plans as though they were sitting on millions of dollars of surplus revenues that don’t exist now and won’t exist in the foreseeable future.
What the council and their staff won’t do, however, is give us the real skinny on how much they are spending, spending, spending. And that is the business of every single taxpayer in Wildomar!
So much for the promises of FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY and LOCAL government these council members got elected on. They're going to leave Wildomar with one huge mess to clean up. At the rate this council is going, our new city will likely follow the City of Vallejo into bankruptcy!
Sure its just a plane ride away wrote on Sep 14, 2008 10:44 AM:Unless the airlines fly from Wildomar to Carmichael, you also have the 45 minute drive to Ontario Airport, the hour process to park, check-in, and security clearance prior to plane departure, the hour flight, time to pick up the rental car, and finally drive 45 minutes or so from Sacramento Airport to Carmichael. Then you have to get back to where you started.
During that same time period, I can drive just about anywhere in SoCal, take care of business, and be back in the office being productive on other matters. I guess the private sector just understands time management a whole lot better, since we don't have the luxury of being subsidized by tax dollars.
To WILDOMARTIAN wrote on Sep 14, 2008 11:26 AM:You could not have said it better! This WCC sponsored council is focused on expenditures and plans that should take a back seat to fulfilling their primary obligation to create the voting districts. That's what the people voted for and that's exactly what they should get. The question is, will we ever see them if this council is in charge?
In addition, there are plenty of other practical matters that need to be addressed - a web site that actually works, an ordinance that will require foreclosed houses to be maintained, a clear plan for park development, and yes, establishing processes and procedures to allow the taxpayers to find out what taypayers' money is being spent on, and what we are actually getting for what we are paying out.
Hmmm wrote on Sep 14, 2008 7:57 PM:no employees yet? Guess that explains why the planning department is MIA. We have a planning commission, but no planning department to process the applications. Great thinking council!
Just two insurance firms wrote on Sep 14, 2008 10:09 PM:So the expensive interim city staff only put forward two potential insurance firms, only two in the whole State of California? One to be discarded with a quick phone call and without a real proposal, and the other to be selected by default?
Score another point for John Danielson who probably has some past/present connection with the selected insurance provider. When is the council going to shoulder their real responsibility and stop rubberstamping these selections. When are they going to start doing what is reasonable and right for Wildomar rather than allowing this temporary outlander city manager to run our new city in to the ground?
And by the way, how much is this all going to cost the taxpayers, and who is going to be entitled to this huge smorgasbord of health benefits?
Perhaps Marsha Swanson would like to answer these questions...someone sure should.
Salaries wrote on Sep 14, 2008 11:19 PM:What are the council members salaries per year anyways? How do you get the information?
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