Supervisor proposes voluntary relinquishment of town health‑care buyout amid public concern; board discusses executive session

At the May 19 work session, the supervisor raised public concern about a health‑care buyout paid to certain part‑time officials and proposed that any board member who receives comparable coverage from the county or state voluntarily relinquish the town buyout.

The supervisor framed the proposal as a first step to respond to community anger. “My proposal is that as a first step that everybody on the board who has health insurance from either the county or state refuse … the controller that they will no longer get” the buyout, the supervisor said. Board members noted that taking such action formally would require a vote and that the matter should be placed on the agenda to be considered in accordance with procedure.

Separate but related, one board member moved to go into executive session to discuss personnel matters involving specific individuals and to obtain legal advice on various matters. The motion reflected concern that some personnel or legal issues (including the buyout question and other ongoing matters) might need closed deliberation; members discussed whether items were appropriate for open session or executive session.

Next steps: the board discussed placing the buyout item on a future agenda for consideration and several members signaled support for convening an executive session to obtain legal advice and discuss personnel. No binding vote on relinquishing buyouts occurred during the work session.