Budget committee finds town pays more in benefits than staff realized; proposes 'right-sizing' health plan method

The Brentwood Budget Committee on Sept. 8 reviewed a compensation-ratio analysis and a detailed review of the towns health insurance setup, and proposed budgeting next year according to the language of the employee handbook to correct how the town has been calculating employer contributions.

The analysis presented to the committee found total-compensation ratios (salary plus employer-paid benefits and payroll taxes) ranging from about 1.59 to 2.24 in nine modeled scenarios and an average total-compensation factor of about 1.89. "An employee that earns $50,000 of salary, the true employer cost is usually between $65,000 and $70,000," the presenter said, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics guidance; using Brentwoods benefit assumptions, his example produced a total compensation of $97,118 for a $50,000 police-officer salary (a compensation ratio of about 1.94).

Why it matters: committee members and select board representatives said the current way the town has been applying its insurance-contribution policy appears to have shifted cost from employees to taxpayers for multiple years. The budget committee chair said the group will "work together to provide a unified budget that meets the town needs on behalf of everyone," and proposed that the 2026 operating-budget appropriation be calculated in line with the employee handbook rather than using the towns highest-cost plan as the basis for employer contributions.

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