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Date: 5/14/2015
EAST LONGMEADOW – Elected officials will no longer be provided health insurance effective June 30.
The Board of Selectmen voted two in favor with one abstention during its April 28 meeting to approve the action.
Selectman William Gorman seconded the motion made by Selectman Angela Thorpe. Both voted in favor of the motion.
Board of Selectmen Chair Paul Federici excused himself from the vote due to a conflict of interest – he receives health insurance from the town.
Thorpe said currently the town does not offer health insurance to part-time town employees.
However, elected officials, all of whom are designated part-time, received health insurance under local option 32-B.
Prior to the board’s decision, the town was paying for 70 percent of the premium cost of health elected official health insurance, she noted.
Thorpe told Reminder Publications that according to information from the Appropriations Committee, town residents will see increases to their taxes and that was one of the main reasons she motioned to cancel the health insurance.
“We have to stop the bleeding,” she added.
Thorpe explained the town would save $72,000 by eliminating the health insurance coverage.
She added that communities such as Longmeadow and West Springfield have either eliminated elected official health insurance coverage or begun that process.
“It’s really not fair to ask the citizens of East Longmeadow to subsidize this benefit, especially in these hard economic times,” she added.
Thorpe there are seven to eight elected officials utilizing the town’s health insurance.
She added that those affected by the change would be eligible for COBRA Health Insurance for 18 months, which would be fully paid for by any elected official who chooses to take this option.
“They would have that period and adjust and go ahead to have the continued coverage for their families,” she said during the board’s meeting.
Thorpe said the town has not and is not liable to any legal action regarding this issue.
Due to this approval by the board, there will be no action taken on Article 20 of the warrant for the May 18 Annual Town Meeting.
The article called for the board to contact state officials to request special legislation for elected officials to provide 100 percent of their health insurance premiums.
The Board of Selectmen sponsored this article.
“Unfortunately, by going the route that I had proposed, what would happen is it could get caught up in [state] legislation and be sent to a committee, which would leave our town liable for the insurance for elected officials,” Thorpe said.
Gorman thanked Thorpe for “doing her homework” on the issue, adding that he doesn’t think the town residents know how much the health insurance coverage costs on their taxes.
“People do have another way to get it and some people do have businesses where they offer their insurance to their employees, but they don’t have a good enough insurance where they’ll go on it themselves,” Gorman said.
The Planning Board, at its May 5 meeting, was not aware of the Selectmen’s decision regarding elected official health insurance.
“So, instead of helping East Longmeadow residents, we’re discouraging East Longmeadow residents,” Planning Board member Alessandro Meccia said. “Thank you, Angela Thorpe and thank you, Billy Gorman.”