June 22, 2004
Bridgewater
Raynham
Easton
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West Bridgewater
Massachusetts
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Joseph Gillis Jr.
You can do something!
If a stipend or health insurance, or for that matter any other benefit offered to someone as part of policy, is accepted or not does not matter to me. There has been much discussion about who and how many are taking advantage of the health insurance offered to certain elected town officials. Those individuals can take it or not. That is their right to choose. However, the bigger problems are:
(a) Why only some elected officials? Is anyone interested in signing a petition so that I can also receive a stipend and therefore be eligible for health benefits? I AM NOT SERIOUS ON THAT! Stipend and health insurance obviously had no bearing on my decision to run for School Committee, as I had no expectation of those items.
(b) While this issue has come before the town in prior years, the town has not done anything about a policy change. Other towns have explored phasing out of health benefits for new officials, while still allowing current officials to maintain coverage. Or, perhaps if this is not possible, then change the plan structure.
(c) The best for last --- the elmination of the healthcare coverage will mean the loss of some good elected officials. From the 2003 Annual Report, I counted more than fifty elected individuals (there are some duplicate names). These public servants were elected to represent more than 26 thousand residents of Bridgewater in various capacities. So, the elimination of health insurance means that some of these people would no longer serve? A person loses health insurance from the town, so they are no longer interested in serving their position. Why are they in that position then?
Being an elected official, take the insurance or not. That is not the point. However, the argument about losing good individuals is just weird. Someone serving the community on an elected board should be there to serve Bridgewater; and whether or not healthcare is a part of the equation should not matter.
Or, perhaps I should get a stipend also so I can take advantage of the other benefits like a healthplan?
