A retired Henderson fire captain who spent nearly 30 years running into burning buildings says he now faces a financial blaze of a different kind: a proposed overhaul of retiree health insurance benefits that could cost him and his wife an additional $900 a month. William Rotroff and other retirees plan to challenge the change directly at Wednesday’s Henderson City Council meeting, where members are set to vote on the proposal.
The plan comes from Henderson’s public safety unions, not the city itself. According to KTNV, the Henderson fire union, the Henderson police union, and the Henderson police supervisor union are jointly proposing changes to the Retiree Health Insurance Premium Assistance Program, a benefit that currently gives Rotroff a $500 reduction off his city insurance premium. Three union presidents said, per their statement to the station, that retirees are receiving more money out of the plan than is currently coming in, and that without structural changes the fund will go into the negatives by 2037.
Rotroff retired from the Henderson Fire Department with the understanding that he would receive the retiree health insurance benefit, having contributed to the program himself during his career, the station reports. He has publicly questioned what has changed since the plan was last adjusted in 2023, and he is asking the city to hold off on a final decision until retirees have had time to evaluate and analyze the underlying data themselves.
What the New Proposal Would Change
Under the proposal set for Wednesday’s vote, current retirees would get a three-month grace period during which they could remain on the existing insurance plan. After that window closes, retirees would be responsible for paying the difference in insurance costs themselves, according to the same KTNV report. For Rotroff, that difference reportedly adds up to roughly $900 more per month for him and his wife combined…