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LISBON -- Some Lisbon village employees received the gift of a reduction in their 2024 health insurance premiums, plus they'll receive a ham and a home cooked meal courtesy of village council members next week.
The village itself also received a gift -- the announcement that the North Country Trail which runs through town is one of the newest national parks, a unit of the National Park Service.
Mayor Peter Wilson made council aware Tuesday of the new designation for the trail, which could bring more people into the village to visit. According to a press release regarding the announcement by the National Park Service, the North Country Trail travels through sections of Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin and "showcases the varied landscapes of the Lake Superior Region, Adirondacks, Ohio River Valley and North Dakota Plains."
To learn more about the trail, visit the website at northcountrytrail.org, which includes information about Lisbon.
Regarding the health insurance premiums, council agreed to changes for the 2024 plan which will decrease costs for employees. Previously employees had to pay 100 percent of the monthly premium, but now the village will pay the single plan portion for all current employees. Current employees on the single plan will pay nothing, while current employees on a family plan or employee/child or employee/spouse will pay 25 percent of the premium. New employees on the single plan will also pay 25 percent of the single plan premium, which is about $200 per month.
"We're going to make it more affordable for employees," Councilwoman Melissa Hiner, chair of the Finance Committee, said.
Both she and Fiscal Officer Tracey Wonner used the example of someone on the family plan to show the savings. Currently, an employee on the family plan pays $1,593.69 per month for their health insurance premium. For 2024, an employee on the family plan will pay $398.42 per month for their portion of the health insurance premium.
Wonner said she's heard nothing but positive feedback from employees who have heard about the plan.
Council members also approved next year's appropriations which total $6,251,927, with about $2.5 million of that in the general fund. Wonner said she's estimating next year's income at $6.5 million to $6.7 million. At least $1.8 million will come from the village's 2 percent income tax.
Wonner said they're going to be spot on with the appropriations.
"I thank the department heads who work really hard to stay within their budgets. Without them, it wouldn't be possible," she said.
She's estimating a carryover of more than $700,000 for the general fund from this year.
In other matters, Rev. Donna Shuman of Lisbon Assembly of God Church updated council members on the success of the gift card program to help teens in foster care in Columbiana County and beyond this Christmas. She had put out an appeal during the last council meeting, wanting to provide at least two gift cards for each of the 24 teens in foster care in the county. Since then, she said the total collected was 188 gift cards and counting. They far exceeded what was needed for the county and have distributed cards to other counties. The appeal is known as Foster Teen Christmas Outreach, sponsored by Father's Heart, Ohio Ministry Network.
"The people of Columbiana County were just phenomenal," she said, offering a heartfelt thank you to all.