LYONS, Kan. — The Lyons City Council Monday night heard a report on health insurance providers for 2026, which will have some impact on deductibles for city employees during December.
Julie Yarmer with Freedom Claims presented a recommendation to change from Blue Cross-Blue Shield to a plan with the Kansas Municipal Insurance Trust (KMIT), which would increase premiums by 19.79% The current carrier had proposed a more than 30% increase, and Jarmer said one of the cities she works with was looking at an 80% increase.
KMIT operates on a calendar year and the city’s current health insurance is to be renewed on Dec. 1. How this impacts city employees is the deductible will reset as of Jan. 1, and she is recommending employees who were planning elective procedures in December should hold them off until January.
Jarmer also reported there will be slight decreases in dental coverage and on a group life insurance policy for city employees both of which will have new providers. There will be no increase in the optional vision coverage for 2026
The Council discussed how transient guest tax dollars received by the city are expended. Over the past four years, the amount the city received from taxes on motel stays has declined from $20,184.41 in 2022 to $13,076.47 in 2025. In the past these funds have been provided to the Lyons Chamber of Commerce, but there currently is not an agreement in place for that.
Mayor Alicia Hommon said these funds should not go to the Chamber, based on concerns about whether those funds were being used for the purposes allowed for by state law which are for tourism and convention related activities.
The Mayor said there are a lot of growth and development opportunities that the city’s staff would better be suited to determine where those funds should be expended to bring people to Lyons based on experience they have in dealing with grants and other related things.
The city receives 2/3rds of the proceeds from what is often referred to as a “bed tax” levied by Rice County with the City of Sterling receiving the other third.
Assistant City Administrator Elizabeth Ramsey and Human Resources Director Josie Dolenz gave the Council a progress report on updating of the city’s current drug and alcohol policy. The city’s current operational testing policy is more than what is required to be legally compliant while personnel policies of the city are too vague.
Other issues include the qualifying covered employee list not being regularly updated and qualifications for coverage not unilaterally determined. This presents a misalignment with the city’s personnel policy and enforcement tactics that may not support DOT guidelines
The policy covers those employees who hold commercial driver’s licenses, public facing service-related employees, such as police officers, and those having direct contact with gas lines, such as meter readers and Public Works staff.
DOT regulations require 50% of those employees be subject to random drug and alcohol screenings annually. It’s been the city’s practice though to place half off all staff in a consortium where 2-3 members are randomly selected monthly,resulting in over testing.
Dolenz and Ramsey recommended amending the internal policy so it better aligns with existing polciies to support DOT’s minimum criteria. These changes would include an assessment of qualifications requiring random screenings, refinement of the selection process which would be given to the city’s third-party assessor, and training for directors to ensure compliance.
Ramsey presented a proposal for a beautification grant program that would focus on parking lot refreshing. This would support local community groups, businesses, government agencies and non-profits in improving the appearance and sustainability of shared spaces. The city has done this for a few entities in the past, but they are seeking more requests for this kind of assistance.
As proposed the city would provide labor along with the necessary tools and equipment with the grantee responsible for supplying city-approved paint to ensure quality and longevity. An application period will open on Feb. 1 and close March 31st, with grant recipients to be announced on April 30.
The Council approved Mayor Alicia Hommon’s recommendation to appoint Cassie Taylor to the Planning Commission. Taylor, who works for Ideatek, has been active in community development and growth activities. Mayor Hommon said at the meeting Nov. 17 she will present a name for appointment of a new Councilman to replace John Mehl who stepped down Oct. 31 as he is moving outside the city.
In a report to the Council, City Administrator Troy Houtman said a final draft is in process for the Fixed Based Operator contract at Lyons-Rice County Airport, which would allow use of the new hangars and fuel system at the airport. Rice County Commissioners will act on the final contract first,then it would come to the County for action. He also reported the dog shelter building has been completed, but there are a few final items needing to be finished before it will be usable, including dog run cages and a concrete pad for that, fencing to enclose the site, and a water connection.
Houtman also reported a website upgrade is almost complete, with Revize, the software provider, currently in the quality assurance phase, which is expected to take about two more weeks, with the anticipation of the new website being live by the end of the year. Work is also proceeding on implementation of new budget software purchased earlier this year to create a budget book that is accessible and transparent for the community. This should also be done by
The Council also approved renewal of the Cereal Malt Beverage License for Casey’s General Store. At the conclusion of the meeting three executive sessions were conducted, one for consultation with legal counsel under the attorney-client privilege provision of the Kansas Open Meetings Act, a six-month evaluation of City Clerk Bailey Sayler, and the annual evaluation of Houtman.
