Town Meeting Focuses on Health Care Concerns

For the last three years the town of Winchester has appropriated $125,000 into its Retiree Healthcare Liability Trust Fund.

The fund was created to help offset the anticipated costs of (teachers, police officers, firefighters, etc.) and their families.

Monday night at Town Meeting, Pat Clewley, vice-chair of the Finance Committee, told Town Meeting members that the town is facing a $110 million unfunded liability. But Clewley did say that healthcare benefits for retired employees are under funded throughout many municipalities. According, to Clewley, Winchester has less than one percent of that account funded.

“Failing to fund this is a significant risk to the town,” Clewley said. “We have a $2 million gap this year and we’re trying to close it with $25,000 appropriations.”

According to Clewley, the longer the town waits to deal with this problem the worse it will get as healthcare costs rise and the population ages.

The Finance Committee, in Article 6, asked Town Meeting to appropriate $250,000 towards the fund. The and Acting Town Manager, Mary Ellen Lannon, proposed a motion that lowered the amount to $153,000.

“We’re aware this is an unfunded liability,” Lannon said. “But our actuary hasn’t completed our study. We have Fall Town Meeting to make additional contributions.”

Lannon said that the town has been able to help lower those costs by changing the health insurance plan for its employees last summer, which saw employees’ premiums go from 10 percent to 25 percent.

The Finance Committee suggested using free cash to fund the account, but the Board of Selectmen were hesitant to touch the free cash.

“This is just a difference in timing,” Selectman Roger Berman said. “We feel very strongly not to touch free cash for this purpose. If we have excess funds we can commit at least another $93,000, bringing the total to $250,000 in the fall.”

Peter Cheimets, Finance Committee chair, said that even the $250,000 amount would not be enough.

“Some numbers that we put in say we’ll have to put $2 million into the account for a long time,” Cheimets said. “There are many things we can do to try and get this funded, but whatever it is we’re going to need to put in more than $250,000. That’s just a little drop in the bucket.”

But Selectman Forrest Fontana, doesn’t want to put in such a large amount.

“I don’t want to set a precedent,” Fontana said. “I don’t want to put a line in the sand of what we’re expected to contribute into the fund every year.”

Town Meeting voted down the Selectmen’s motion and approved the original article, appropriating $250,000, by a unanimous vote.