Taxes and Fees
2009 Lancaster Town Budget, Part III: Residents speak out on elected official’s health insurance policy
By Lee Chowaniec
Nov 20, 2008, 14:21

As stated in Part II, several residents spoke at the recent Town Board meeting commending the board for making modifications to the tentative budget. However, when addressing the board, several residents commented that Councilman Ron Ruffino’s resolution to save taxpayers $40,000 by eliminating council members from receiving town provided health insurance was a step in the right direction, but that the resolution was not far reaching enough.

It did not affect the two part-time Town Justices and did not address the matter of full-time elected officials getting buyouts when having an outside source insurance plan.

The writer was the first to offer thanks to the board for modifying the budget and lowering the amount of tax to be levied on property owners. The writer also expressed an opinion that Ruffino’s resolution did not go far enough by not addressing and eliminating insurance buyouts for the remaining part-time and full-time elected officials; buyouts that were never town officially approved.

Like other residents, it is my belief that insurance should be provided for elected officials if they have no outside source of nsurance. I agree with Amatura’s position of, “use it or lose it”.

48 million Americans have no health insurance. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are losing their jobs and their insurance in the process. And, we have town elected officials making decent salaries, having outside insurance and want to continue double-dipping with the lame excuse that the town provides a better insurance and that if they didn’t get the buyout stipend they would opt to take the town insurance, thereby costing town taxpayers more money.

It is not enough that they have insurance in today’s world, but that they feel entitled to the best plan.

Referring to a comment I made that the town has a Cadillac type health insurance plan, Supervisor Robert Giza later stated that is was not a Cadillac plan. Well, if it is not, why would the board members be selling the fact that everyone would be opting to take it if their buyouts were eliminated?

The writer closed by declaring that if the board took no immediate action on eliminating insurance buyouts, it should grandfather the current policy and instate that future elected officials receive no town provided health insurance if they insurance from an outside source.

Others addressing the board

Marianne Scime commended the board for working hard to cut the budget. Scime asked why only the board positions are having their buyouts and insurance cancelled. “Why not all the elected officials if they have outside health insurance coverage?”

Councilman Dan Amatura interjected, “That was my point the last time (his November 3rd meeting resolution proposal); “Use it or lose it!”

Councilman Ron Ruffino interjected, “If you put us in the use it or lose it position, we are going to take the town insurance and it’s going to cost the taxpayer more.”

Scime replied, “My point is, if I come into this job and have insurance I would not take the town insurance.” Scime ran for the lone council seat this past election and had based her campaign on doing away with health insurance buyouts for part-time elected officials.

Ruffino asked Scime what would be her position if her health insurance was not as good as the town’s plan. Scime answered that she would not take the town insurance.

Ruffino responded with, “It’s a little different if you’re standing here and have a choice instead of you standing there and making accusations.
(Easy Ron, no one is accusing you of anything. You cut out your own town provided health insurance.)

Ruffino continued with: “I pay a good premium to keep my insurance at the bank. I come here and I don’t have to pay anything.”

Supervisor Giza added that elected officials are employees of the town. Scime responded that as elected officials they have insurance and don’t need to take buyouts. “If you are a full-time elected official and have no other insurance, I agree you should get insurance. But if you already have it, you should not receive the buyout and the town could save more money that way!”

Dan Beutler

Beutler stated that Ruffino had done a good job by eliminating parts of the health insurance costs. “However, I don’t see anything in the budget about raises."

"I am a member of the CSEA union through my county job and I haven’t received a raise in three years. As a taxpayer, I am looking at this as not getting a raise from the one side, but paying for it (for someone) on the other side."

Beutler voiced that the proposed cuts were not deep enough; not appropriate enough. He declared that while individuals like him have to drive into the city to their jobs, “You guys can almost walk to work and some of you are being picked up and driven back home in town vehicles on our dime.”

After the meeting, Beutler voiced that if the board members were receiving health insurance buyouts for the past 12 years at a cost somewhere around $150,000, and where there was no resolution approved for board members to receive such buyouts, “why is no one thinking about suing the board members to get that money back?”

Mike Fronczak

Fronczak asked Supervisor Giza who were the elected officials that would still be eligible for health insurance buyouts and why they would not opt to take the town provided insurance if it is such a Cadillac plan.

Supervisor Giza replied that he didn’t think it was a Cadillac plan. He added that he, the Town Clerk, the Highway Superintendent and the two Town Justices would still be eligible for receiving insurance buyouts.

Fronczak asked Supervisor Giza whether he had lifetime insurance and had the buyout option. Giza responded that he did not have lifetime insurance, but did have outside insurance and the buyout option.

Fronczak asked, “So, that’s going to cease now, for you?” “No,” answered Supervisor Giza.

“So, you’re going to take $6,000 on top of this,” asked Fronczak? “Yep,” answered Giza.

“So you’re still going to get lifetime town insurance and are still going to get $6,000 on top of that,” Fronczak asked?

“I don’t get lifetime insurance from the town,” answered Giza. “There was lifetime insurance at one time.”

“From the Boy’s Club, right,” Fronczak asked.

“Right,” answered Giza.

“But you do get free insurance, and you’re going to take the $6,000 buyout,” Fronczak asked.

“If I’m entitled to it why shouldn’t I take it,” Giza responded.

Fronczak went on to say that he also thought Ruffino’s resolution was a step in the right direction, but the cuts were not deep enough.

“You’ll never be satisfied Mike,” Giza commented. “No matter how hard we work, you’ll never be satisfied.
“So, then other elected officials also have that option,” asked Fronczak?

“Full-time,” answered Giza. “Full-time employees,” asked Fronczak. Giza responded in the affirmative.
Fronczak closed by again declaring that the resolution did not go far enough.

Comments

Supervisor Giza told Fronczak that full-time elected officials would still be eligible for the health insurance buyout should they have outside insurance coverage. Why then doesn’t Ruffino’s resolution include the two town justices in the exclusion language?

If indeed no Town Board resolution or official document exist stating that elected officials are entitled to health insurance buyouts, as is the case with “regular” town employees, why did Supervisor Giza tell Mike Fronczak that he is entitled to the buyout?

Ruffino’s resolution is a win for town taxpayers. However, in his saying that “we have to lead by example in this time of crisis”, his words and resolution fall short in ringing true to those who do not have insurance, are losing their jobs and health insurance coverage in the process, and to low and fixed income families that are having difficulty in paying for their premiums and even more difficulty in paying high co-pays. There should be no health insurance buyout for any elected official who has outside coverage.

Having insurance from any source is a blessing in today’s world. To complain you don’t have the best insurance plan and then double-dip from taxpayer money to make up the difference is contemptible!

That said, Lancaster’s first step in addressing the health insurance elected officials receive is admirable, especially considering Lancaster no longer provides lifetime health insurance to any town employees since 2000 – unlike policies that remain in place in many other Erie County municipalities.




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