WESTHAMPTON — The town has released a draft warrant for an upcoming special Town Meeting that will ask voters to approve funding to pay for the town’s $126,000 health insurance increase, a roughly $75,000 police cruiser and more.
The Select Board voted to close the seven-article warrant at its Nov. 3 meeting, meaning no more articles will be added, but they can be removed and altered. Town Coordinator Doug Finn said it will be updated with clearer details but there will likely not be any significant alterations.
While there is not a set date, the meeting is planned for either Dec. 2, 8 or 9. Finn encourages residents to do their “civic duty” and try to attend the meeting.
“It is going to be important as we proceed into fiscal year 2027, which is going to be a very challenging one for Westhampton, as for many other towns, and things are going to be interesting here on out,” Finn said.
Article 2 is significant compared to others. If passed, it would allow the town to appropriate funding for expenses that paid a roughly $126,000 increase from the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust (HCGIT), that provides health insurance coverage for municipal employees. Finn said if the article passes the appropriation would come from about $430,00 in free cash.
Communities like Westhampton in the HCGIT have been scrambling for months to figure out how to pay for unexpected midyear increases to health insurance costs. The trust raised its rates by a total of about 40% for its 73 members this year — a 20% midyear increase last spring and another 20% hike that took effect Oct. 1. Most recently, the HCGIT announced a 19% increase for Medicare patients, effective Jan. 1.
The town has been fishing for options to leave the trust. They are speaking with consultants to weigh more affordable options though nothing is certain. The Select Board mentioned the state Group Insurance Commission (GIC), a frequently mentioned option for trust members.
At the meeting, Finn said he heard that South Hadley and Belchertown had decided to stay in the HCGIT, at least for the next year, calling it a “huge win” for the trust. He said the only other community he is looking to hear from is Easthampton saying, “If Easthampton stays in, then I have a lot more confidence in the stability,” of the trust.
Belchertown has settled for the trust at this point. Though, at the town’s special Town Meeting in late October, Town Manager Steve Williams said that could change depending on the stability of the trust in the coming months.
Westhampton Select Board member Jennifer Milikowsky said from one analysis assessing a switch to the GIC, “The financial implications are totally unknown especially for a unit of our size. If we were a huge unit and you could have some confidence in the statistical probability of a spread that you see elsewhere.”
She said for a community that has 31 employees in the town’s health care plan, there isn’t a lot of room for error.
Article 3 would raise or appropriate money for the purchase of a police cruiser. Finn said the cost would be close to $75,000 and vehicles with upticks like sirens and communication devices cost more than other vehicles. Of the town’s two existing cruisers, one is about nine-years-old and the other is about three-years-old.
Article 1 asks to vote to raise and appropriate money for “unpaid bills and/or over-expended accounts of previous fiscal years.”
Articles 4, 5, 6 and 7 ask to make small zoning changes.