Consultant tells Hubbardston select board retiree-health liability would show as about $1.2 million; study recommends plan and modest annual funding

Parker Elmore, president of Odyssey Advisors, told the Town of Hubbardston Select Board on Dec. 16 that if the town were to offer retiree health benefits, “the liability that would go on your books is about a million 2.”

Elmore presented the results of an actuarial study the board authorized using $3,500 in ARPA funds. He said the report is informational only and does not commit the town to adopting a benefit. “These things are not cheap. I mean, I'm not gonna lie to you. They're not cheap,” he said, and urged the board to weigh both the direct cost and the soft-dollar effects of turnover and recruitment.

The study estimated that, if Hubbardston adopted an OPEB benefit, initial annual cash costs in the first 10–12 years would be roughly $50,000 a year and could grow over the long term; Elmore gave an illustration that 30 years out the annual cash cost…