Newly elected part-time Lakeville officials will not receive health insurance moving forward
Select Board Member Christopher Plonka, left, and Chair Maureen Candito seen at the recent Select Board meeting. Photo by Sam Tucker
Select Board Member Christopher Plonka, left, and Chair Maureen Candito seen at the recent Select Board meeting. Photo by Sam Tucker
LAKEVILLE — During a March 3 Select Board meeting, members voted to cut town costs by suspending all health insurance benefits for part-time town elected officials starting April 6.
The decision gave an answer to the question that was initially posed as a citizens petition during the Special Town Meeting in November — where voters supported the elimination of benefits. As a non-binding article, the say of voters served as an advisory to the Select Board.
On Tuesday, members followed through and unanimously voted to suspend the benefits.
The affected part-time positions include the five on the Select Board and three positions for both the Board of Assessors and the Board of Health.
Anyone elected into the positions, including incumbents who are reelected, will not be eligible for healthcare plans or stipends moving forward. The decision does not include the Town Clerk, which is a full time position, Select Board Chair Maureen Candito said.
“I know we're doing the right thing, but it makes me very upset to take health insurance away from people,” Candito said.
For the current budget, between the stipends and health insurance benefits, about $110,000 is appropriated to cover the expenses, according to documents provided by the town.
Since elections are cyclical 3-year terms, benefits will be phased out as officials’ terms wrap up. Due to legal constraints, health insurance cannot be taken away from officials during their term.
In Lakeville, stipends are given to part-time elected officials who qualify for, but opt-out of health insurance. The potential costs associated with the benefits range from $27,500, if all officials took stipends, to over $275,000 if all officials opted in to the standard family insurance plan, according to town documents.
After members made the decision, the original petition writer, Michael Smith, said it was not enough. He said current part-time elected officials’ stipends should be stripped as well.
“What we should be doing is that we should be eliminating the stipends for everybody this year,” Smith said, noting the possible cuts to services in next year’s budget.
“I just don't understand the justification,” Smith said.
Vice Chair Lorraine Carboni said although insurance and stipends are connected, the discussion on Tuesday night was “specifically regarding health insurance. We aren’t discussing stipends,” she said.
The board will have a joint meeting with the Free-Lake School Committee on Thursday, March 5, to discuss next year’s budget shortfalls and possible solutions in detail.
