Members of Madison’s City Council could receive opt-in health insurance if a proposed budget amendment passes through later this year.

Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, said the new insurance would provide additional benefits for what she calls a relatively low-paying yet demanding job which does not offer full benefits.

Maniaci said the amendment must adequately describe the job of alder to follow state statute dictating the use of health insurance for public officials. She added she investigated the use of health insurance in cities similar to Madison’s size and began considering the ordinance as early as this summer.

Currently, Maniaci said, the threshold for a public official to receive health insurance is 600 hours per year, which breaks down to approximately 11 hours per month.

She said considering the major issues alders face, such as the Edgewater Hotel proposal and the financial rescue of Overture Center, alders should be allowed to receive insurance if not adequately covered by another job.

Maniaci also said she believes the lack of insurance drives possible candidates away from running for a City Council.

“This is very problematic if you want to have a diverse Common Council,” Maniaci said. “You don’t want people who are just financially well-off that have spouses supporting them or maybe are retired and have everything figured out.”

Ald. Bryon Eagon, District 8, who also is a full-time University of Wisconsin senior and works a second job for UW, said the unique capacities of the alder position, which is not a fully salaried position like it is in Milwaukee, give merit to Maniaci’s proposal.

Additionally, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, who has served on the City Council longer than any other member, said several proposals have come close to coming to a council vote before, but hit snags because of legal problems and never made it to the council floor.

Eagon said despite previous problems with similar proposals, he still would consider adopting Maniaci’s proposal.

“I think being an alder is a unique job whether or not you’re a student or you have another job,” Eagon said. “It’s been messy in the past, but I think it’s worth reexamining.”

Maniaci said the city would need to contribute a minimum of 25 percent of the pension costs, although she said ideally the city would cover 50-75 percent. Verveer said he would prefer a pension system similar to the one Dane County Board of Supervisor members currently have, which requires members to pay for their own benefit package run by the county or city.

With two staff officials compared to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s 12, the City Council requires additional resources to streamline the city government process, Maniaci said.

“Now a lot of policy gets delayed because you only have so many hours in a day,” Maniaci said. “Being elected does not mean we should be given no resources to do our job with.”

Alders will consider the amendment as an addition to the city’s operating budget later this year. Maniaci said the amendment currently allows one family-based plan and four individual plans which would take up about half of an alder’s monthly paycheck.