Nashville should continue to provide #healthbenefits for City Council Members that have served for two or more terms (eight years). It is important to set this example for other communities on the proper treatment of dedicated community servants. Nowhere else in the country are council members at the municipal level granted this type of benefit, and Nashville should set the precedent.

Some have called it fiscally irresponsible, but this is not the case. Every person who has served on the council has made the laudable decision to help our community. We need to encourage more people to step forward and do the same. How will we ever receive proper representation if we do not do our level best to attract the best individuals for the job? It is human nature to gather resources for our families, and people on the council are no different. Healthcare benefits are included in the compensation package they receive for working on the council. If they would be paid better elsewhere, it would be absurd to expect them to stick around and do a good job running the city.

The Service International Employees Union Local 205 has provided support for the current law of council members’ lifetime health benefits. Scaling back the benefits package is going to create a major disincentive to running for office. The average person cannot afford to pay for their own health insurance, which is why it is offered by most employers. People who serve on the council are no different than the rest of us. Without a supportive health care plan, they could easily find themselves in financial ruin.

The body of the city council is intended to be comprised of people from all levels of education, socio-economic backgrounds, and walks of life. It is the only way we can hope for proper representation of our richly diverse population. We should focus on attracting the best people for the job, and that means that we have to offer a competitive... or ideally, superior... incentive for people to serve the city.

Getting rid the lifetime health benefits will mean that a large chunk of our citizenry will in essence be without a voice. So the only people who will be making decisions will be those who are already provided for before they enter office. Do we really think that the independently wealthy elites should be making decisions for everyone? Because that is what will happen when people can no longer afford to keep serving.

The City Council Members do an amazing job serving the community. Nashville should set a good #standard by maintaining lifetime health benefits for the two-term council members.