Murphy City Council Regular Meeting - July 15, 2025
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Murphy City Council Regular Meeting - July 15, 2025
The Murphy City Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at 6:00 p.m., adjourning at 6:12 p.m. The meeting included the recognition of an Employee of the Quarter, routine staff reports, approval of the consent agenda, and a vote on a new employee health insurance contract with Cigna.
Consent Calendar
- Consent Agenda Approved Unanimously: All routine items on the consent agenda were approved by a single motion and second, with no discussion or requested removals. The motion passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public offered comments on items not on the agenda.
Presentations
- Employee of the Quarter – Third Quarter FY26: Chelsea Montgomery, Human Resource Director, presented the award to Morgan Barclay (Planning Administrator, Community Development Department), recognizing her for consistently going above and beyond and demonstrating commitment to the city's core values. Barclay was nominated by coworkers, supported by her department head, and selected by the city manager and assistant city manager. She has been with the city since November and was praised for her leadership and willingness to take on challenges, including volunteering to be tased for the youth police academy.
Staff Reports
- City Manager Updates:
- Reminder: No left turns into or out of the PSA parking lot.
- Moonlight Movies continues Friday, July 18 at Aviary Park, featuring Sonic 3 at dusk.
- Back to School Bash scheduled for July 24 at the Murphy Community Center, 4:00–7:00 p.m.
- Master Plan Community Forum #1 (first community engagement effort) will be held Saturday, July 26 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Murphy Activity Center. Consultant LJA Engineering and city staff will be present. Residents can also provide feedback at PlanMurphy.com.
- Next city council meeting is a budget work session on July 31 at 6:00 p.m. downstairs in the community room.
Discussion Items
- 13A – Resolution Authorizing Contract with Cigna for Employee Insurance Benefits: Mayor Bradley recused himself due to a personal interest in the purchase of health insurance, turning the gavel over to Mayor Pro Tem Elizabeth Abraham. Chelsea Montgomery presented the results of a competitive RFP process. Cigna’s best and final offer included a 13% increase for medical insurance (driven by inflationary factors and a higher loss ratio) and a 17% average decrease for dental and vision coverage. Despite being higher than the 5% increase budgeted for FY26, Cigna was the most cost‑effective bid. To stay within the budgeted amount, employee premiums will increase, resulting in a $93,000 financial impact. The plan design remains identical to the current Blue Cross plan. The city will continue the wellness program, with Cigna providing a $10,000 wellness credit. Employees can earn a $25 monthly premium reduction for completing four wellness metrics (including biometric screening, physical, and a wellness activity), plus an additional $10 if a spouse also participates. Current participation is about 10%, with a goal of 30%. The motion to approve the resolution passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously.
- Resolution 13A – Cigna Insurance Contract: Approved unanimously, authorizing the city manager to execute the contract effective September 1, 2025, for employee medical, dental, and vision benefits.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to the July 15th regular council meeting. Time is 6 p.m. Rise with me as I offer the invitation and pledge of allegiance. Our heavenly father bless us as we consider the agenda in front of us tonight. Give us the wisdom to act with compassion and vision for what is best for the community. Bless and watch over our public safety officers in the community they serve. Bless the public service, public safety on the residents in Kerr County and Hill County Hill Country, Texas as they deal with the floods and the death in that area. And in your name we pray. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. To the Republicans. One nation, under God, indivisible. Liberty and Justice. Excuse me. I'll turn the time over to City Secretary for World Call and Certification Forum. Mayor Scott Bradley? Here. Mayor Pro Tim Elizabeth Abraham? Here. Deputy Mayor Pro Tim Janae Butler. Here. Councilmember, please two, Scott Smith. Councilmember place three, Andrew Chase. Here. Councilmember place four, Ken Otman. Here. Councilmember place five, Laura Deal. Here. Mayor certify the presence of a quorum. Thank you. All right. Number eight public comments is time we set us out on the agenda to allow residents to address council on an item not on the agenda this evening. Would anyone like to address council on an item not on the agenda this evening? Seeing none. Move on to the mayor's report. I do not have anything additional for tonight. Any council members have anything to report this evening? Very good. Moving on to item 10 presentations. Employee of the quarter, Chelsea Montgomery, Human Resource Director. Your employee of the quarter again. Every time this comes up, you're good evening, Mayor Council. Tonight I have the pleasure of entering our next employee of the quarter. Um, which is purpose to publicly recognize uh any employee that consistently goes above and beyond and demonstrates a commitment to our core values. Um so just a reminder of how it works. Each quarter of the fiscal year, any employee can nominate someone from for employee of the quarter. Uh the nomination must be sub uh supported by the department head, and then ultimately the final selection is made by our city manager and assistant city manager. So without further ado, I am pleased to announce that our next employee of the third quarter is Morgan Barclay from the community development department. Um I'm gonna hand it over to our director of community and economic development to present Morgan her award. You can make your way up here, Morgan.
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