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Resident urges Lakeville finance committee to review stipends and health insurance for part‑time elected officials
Summary
At the Lakeville Finance Committee meeting May 29, resident Michael Smith presented research showing the town pays stipends and offers health insurance to part‑time elected officials and urged the committee to consider limiting stipends and ending the insurance benefit to reduce growing liabilities.
Michael Smith told the Town of Lakeville Finance Committee on May 29 that the town’s practice of paying stipends to multiple part‑time elected bodies and offering those members access to the municipal health plan creates a growing liability.
Smith said the town’s stipends total $40,495 — including $22,995 for the select board, $5,000 for assessors and $6,500 for the school committee — and that three committee members are currently enrolled on the town insurance. He said the employer contribution for those three enrollees is $1,777.40 per month and that the town’s annual contribution for them totals $62,359.16. Smith also said the town pays a $5,000 annual buyout to elected officials who decline insurance.
Smith presented comparisons from about 17 neighboring towns, saying many do not pay stipends to select board members and most do not offer insurance to committee members. He cited a 2011 Plymouth bill (listed in his materials as bill 01346) and cited a state statutory reference he described as “GL 32B” when discussing limits other towns had placed on eligibility for municipal insurance.
Committee members thanked Smith for the research and asked him to provide his supporting documents so they can add them to the budget record. Members discussed handling any change slowly and noted fairness to incumbents: several committee members said any change should be phased and that benefits in place when an official is elected should remain for the length of that official’s term.
Finance Committee members said they were not prepared to take formal action at the May 29 session. Committee members asked Smith to provide more documentation in writing; Smith said he would email additional materials before the committee’s next meeting. Several members said the committee would consider the issue during the next budget cycle and consult the select board and town administrator before proposing any changes to stipends or insurance eligibility.
Smith recommended, as examples he found in other towns, grandfathering existing enrollees while ending new eligibility and requiring future members who enroll to pay a percentage of premiums or elect COBRA at full cost after their term. Committee members agreed they needed more historical documentation and called for a fuller review of the practice before any policy change.
No motion or vote on stipends or insurance was taken at the meeting.
