An effort to cut costs by changing health care insurance providers failed Wednesday when the matter came to a tie vote by Avalon Council.

Council finance committee chairman Tom Michalow said that the borough would save about $2,500 per month -- or some $20,000 to $30,000 per year -- by changing to the UPMC health insurance plan.

The proposal was unpopular with some employees as well as some officials who attended the May 20 council meeting.

Police Officer Tom Kokoski objected to the limitations inherent in the UPMC plan, which he and others said requires that care be obtained only from UPMC doctors and hospitals.

At least one police officer has a doctor who is not part of the UPMC system, Kokoski said.

Council member Patrick Narcisi said that his research indicated that being restricted to UPMC hospitals meant “appreciably different surgical procedures” in some cases.

“I know for sure that can mean different procedures,” he said.

Michalow countered that argument, saying that UPMC’s “cutting edge” medicine probably meant that there were procedures that could be obtained only from UPMC facilities.

Under the current plan covering borough employees, patients can choose their providers, including those who are part of the UPMC system.

Kokoski and Narcisi also argued that the switch could be a violation of the borough’s agreement with the police union, whose contract mandates that officers receive the “equivalent” of their current coverage. The UPMC plan does not meet that criteria, he said.

Narcisi agreed, saying that the switch could result in a grievance being filed against the borough by the union.

He and Kokoski also said that not all members of council were aware of what was being proposed in the switch. Council member Ed Repp confirmed that, saying that he thought the borough planned to set up Health Savings Accounts (HSA) or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) rather than switch to UPMC. Michalow and council president Ed Klicker said that an HSA/FSA plan had been proposed initially, but had been rejected due to opposition from the police union.

Kokoski pointed out that, during negotiations for the current police contract, officers had voluntarily agreed to contribute to their health insurance premiums because of rising costs.

“We recognized that as a police department,” Kokoski said. “”We’re not trying to price ourselves out of a job.”

He said that negotiations for a new contract would begin in January, and suggested that the health insurance matter could be addressed at that time.

He argued that the borough should be able to find another way to save $2,500 a month.

“I just don’t want this to be a dollars and cents thing,” Kokoski said. “I don’t know if this is in the best interests of the borough.”

A motion to make the switch to UPMC for all borough employees came to a 3-3 tie vote, and therefore failed. Mayor David Haslett, who could have broken the tie, was absent from the meeting, as were council members Al Wurst, Dan Sefick and Vicki Donnelly, who was attending a Quaker Valley Council of Governments meeting. Michalow, Klicker and Robert Powell voted for the motion, while Narcisi, Repp and Ralph Cortese were opposed.

The matter could be reintroduced at the next council meeting if, according to the rules of procedure, someone who voted against the motion the first time makes the new motion to switch health care plans.