Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By CHARITY SMITH
Ramsay — Eric Haukkala, of Haukkala CPA in Iron River, will be the new auditor for Bessemer Township.
“We hired him to do the audit for the Powderhorn Area Utility District. It seemed like he did a very good job, so we looked into him ourselves,” said Jeff Randall, township supervisor.
The board voted to hire Haukkala during its meeting on Monday.
The board voted to approve a health insurance benefit package with a 80/20 split. The township will cover 80% of the employees' health expenses and the employee is responsible for 20%. The board had previously tabled the issue to allow more time to consider the matter. The board had the option of choosing the 80/20 split or to place a hard cap on the amount the city would pay for employee health insurance.
“With the percentage, if the insurance goes up, at least they know what they're paying,” said Randall. “When we did the math, it was actually the better deal for our employees at this time.”
He said the health care coverage primarily will affect the township's three department of Public Works employees.
The board also:
—Reviewed a draft of its budget and gave it a final stamp of approval before presenting it to the public on March 28 during the township's annual meeting. The annual meeting includes a public hearing on the budget.
—Approved extending Roman Tauer's contract as the townships building inspector for another year.