“I think it’s an outrageous perk,” said resident Kerri Gustavson. “That’s unsustainable — how many people will that cover eventually? Now you can be 35 and leave and get lifetime family medical. That’s not something we can afford.”

“I know we’ve made a lot of strides fiscally, but I just wonder if this is the time to be introducing things that will cost us money down the road,” added resident Kevin Heller.

Schnirman reiterated that the city has had difficulty retaining and keeping “top talent.”

“Why would somebody come from a good, safe job, a high-paying job — and we want them to come work here in Long Beach and be part of the effort to continue to improve our operations and rebuild our city — if they had a good safe job, why would they take the risk?” Schnirman said. “So it’s a very difficult proposition to recruit folks, as opposed to the labor force, where they have a very secure operation. So, while we cannot offer them job security, and we can’t offer them the likelihood that they will be here for 30 years, this is exactly what Nassau County offers and this is what I’m recommending here.”

***An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the council would revisit the measure at its Jan. 1 meeting.