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Selectmen approve new dental plan, defer larger life‑insurance increase
Summary
The board voted to switch the town's dental provider and authorize the town administrator to sign the contract; a proposed increase to employer-paid life insurance was discussed and tabled for further review.
The Alton Board of Selectmen approved a change in the town’s ancillary employee benefits to switch the dental plan to the “standard” carrier recommended by new brokers and authorized Town Administrator Ryan Heath to sign the contract.
Human-resources staff (presenting as Laura) told the board the recommended plan provides better customer service for employees while keeping overall ancillary costs flat or slightly lower; staff said an annual savings of about $126 was expected across the plan options shown. The board voted to approve the dental plan and delegated signature authority to Ryan Heath.
The meeting also included discussion of group life insurance and short-term disability. Brokers recommended raising the town‑paid life insurance from $30,000 currently to either a flat $50,000 or to a multiple of salary; staff advised that increasing life coverage would raise premiums. Several selectmen said they wanted time to review the options; the board agreed to approve the dental plan now and table any change in life insurance for further consideration.
Staff emphasized that the town’s main medical plan with Anthem remains under contract and that the changes under discussion were ancillary benefits that do not affect the core medical coverage. The board asked for more detailed benchmarking materials and additional time to decide on life‑insurance changes before adopting any cost increase.
