MOSCOW, Idaho—The Moscow City Council has approved a resolution that provides insurance benefits to domestic partners of city employees.

The council approved the resolution 4-2 at its final meeting of 2007.

Regence Blue Shield of Idaho, the city’s insurance company, recently began offering a plan that covers same- and opposite-sex domestic partners. The benefits take effect early next year, and the council has the option to review the plan by January 2009.

Mayor Nancy Chaney, who doesn’t vote in the city’s system, said the plan won’t cause employee premiums to rise, a concern voiced by some employees.

Moscow City Attorney Randy Fife said the city was adding an option to an insurance plan, not creating domestic partnerships.

“What you’ve got before you is a proposition that doesn’t require any decisions on the part of the city regarding domestic partnerships,” Fife said.