FINCOM 20230118 Minutes - Sub-Committee Elected Officials

Source page 1

Canton Finance Committee Minutes Voted on: 3/6/23 
801 Washington Street Vote: 3-0-0 
0 Canton, MA 02021 
Sub -Committee to Review Compensation of Elected Officials 
Meeting Minutes 
January 18, 2023 
Finance Committee Sub -Committee Members Present: Dave Clough, Emilio Mauro and Cindy Thomas. 
Finance Committee Sub -Committee Members Absent: All members present. 
Guests Present: 
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee/Sub-Committee Recording Secretary 
Call Meeting to Order: Ms. Thomas called the virtual Sub -Committee meeting to order at 7:34 p.m. 
Ms. Thomas stated the purpose of the meeting was to reconvene as a Sub -Committee to review the compensation of 
elected officials. 
Update on information gathered relative to Elected Officials Compensation 
Ms. Thomas stated there were three agenda items 1) review any updated information since the Sub Committee's 
meeting on January 9, 2023 2) review and revise as needed the Draft Preliminary Report and Recommendations to 
the Finance Committee and 3) approve the minutes for January 9, 2023, 
The only updated information that Ms. Thomas obtained since the last meeting and the latest draft report was the 
cost of benefits. In addition to the cost of stipends that the Sub -Committee has been reviewing, Ms. Thomas stated 
that the Sub -Committee and the Finance Committee should also be discussing and considering the cost and financial 
impact of benefits for elected officials and retired elected officials. 
Ms. Thomas screen shared for the members the Draft Report showing the benefit costs of retired elected officials. 
She stated that these costs could be significant given that retired elected officials who continue with their benefits 
upon retirement could do so for a number of years after their retirement causing considerable costs to the Town. 
The Town's cost of a retiree enrolled in a BOBS Medex plan is $3,071 per year. If a spouse were also enrolled in 
Medex the Town's cost would double to $6,142 per year. 
If a retiree is not Medicare eligible the retiree would have a choice of two plans: BOBS HMO (the Town's 
responsibility would be $7,615 for an individual plan or $20,014 for a family plan) or BOBS PPO (the Town's 
responsibility would be $11,737 for an individual plan or $27,843 for a family plan). If a retiree and their spouse were 
both enrolled in the Town's insurance and the retiree were to pass away, the spouse is allowed to continue on the 
Town's insurance. 
The Sub -Committee reviewed the contents of their report as follows 
Mr. Mauro inquired if an elected official's compensation must be over $5,000 annually to create a possible pension 
liability for vesting. The $5,000 includes only the cost of the compensation/stipend, not the cost of benefits. If an 
elected official receives less than $5,000 a year from the Town but is also a slate employee or a retiree of another 
town the Sub -Committee is wondering if the compensation/stipend under $5,000 from Canton would lead to a 
pension liability. The initial response Ms. Thomas received was no it would not, but in talking with the Finance 
Director Randy Scollins, there was tentativeness to the answer he received from Norfolk County Retirement System. 
Because the occurrence of this would be a rare situation, it would not make a difference in how the Sub -Committee 
approaches this overall. Mr. Clough inquired that because none of the Town of Canton elected officials receive 
compensation greater than $5,000 how would any of them be eligible for pension or continuation of insurance 
benefits. Ms. Thomas stated that the Town has a policy from 2003 approved by the Select Board that allows elected 
officials to participate in the Town's medical and dental insurance. It is Ms. Thomas' understanding that the 10-year 
level has been used to determine if a retired elected official is able to continue with the health insurance even if the 
official receives less than $5,000 of compensation. 
FINCOM 20230118 Minutes Sub-Commiltes.docx Page 1 of 4 1/23/23