DECATUR - The city council voted Monday to again postpone deciding on an insurance company to handle the city's worker's compensation claims. It's a move that could leave city staff with a short deadline should the council change companies.

Interim city manager John A. Smith told council members that pushing back the decision to the next council meeting on Sept. 29 would leave city staff 48 hours to adapt to a new company should the city choose not to renew its contract with Itasca-based Arthur J. Gallagher and Co.

The city asked for figures from the two companies comparing their different plans and premiums at the Sept. 2 council meeting and postponed voting on the contract until this week. Three companies, including Gallagher, stepped up to bid on the contract.

If the city opts at the Sept. 29 meeting to shift the contract to Decatur-based Behnke, which already assists the city in its employee health insurance plan, the new contract would begin Oct. 1 and would require city staff to adopt the sort of new procedures that come with dealing with a different company, Smith said.

Despite a troubled national economy, things look reassuring for Decatur, according to a report to the city council Monday.

Craig Coil, president of the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County, discussed the city's overall economic situation in a study session. Coil reported that Decatur is one of four communities in the state that has seen consistent job growth over the last year.

Coil said despite the increase in jobs, unemployment is also up. Coil said many of those who have acquired jobs are returning to the work force in response to things like rising gas prices and the general state of the economy.

Coil said wages in Decatur are also doing comparably well. Macon County's wages rank eighth out of 102 counties in Illinois.

Coil named education as a primary concern in attracting businesses to Decatur.

"Every company I talk to says our future depends on how well we educate our children," Coil said.

The city's finance director Ron Neufeld also gave a report on the city's fiscal state that reported no red flags and most of the city's funds still in the black.

"We're staying well within our budget," Neufeld said.

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