Beginning Oct. 1, all Waldoboro employees will pay for part of their health insurance. Town employees, many of whom currently pay nothing, have long resisted this change.
The Waldoboro Board of Selectmen voted unanimously on Sept. 27 to approve the change.
Currently, 10 employees were hired after July 2003 and pay 15 percent (about $1000 per year) of the difference between a single and family health insurance plan. Another 11 employees have family plans but were hired before that date and do not pay into their health plan. Those 11 employees will now pay into their insurance at the same rate as other employees.
The additional employees paying into their insurance will help the town to comply with a budget cut approved at a special town meeting earlier this year. At that meeting, voters cut just over $30,000 from the employee benefits budget, leaving the town few options other than this one, said Town Manager John Spear at the Sept. 27 meeting.
“I think [the selectmen] are between a rock and a hard place,” Spear said.
The hard place, Spear said, is the upcoming union negotiations with town employees. Spear said it is “very likely” that an employee will file a legal complaint against the town because of the selectmen’s action.
An employer typically may not change union employees’ benefits before a contract negotiation, Spear said.
“You’re in a tough spot, but I think what you’re suggesting is fair,” resident and former selectman Bob Butler told the board. Butler was heavily involved in the town’s insurance during his time on the board. Butler said it will now be up to the unions to decide how they want to deal with the situation.