State Lieutenant Gov., Tim Murray, accompanied by members of Municipal Affairs Coordinating Cabinet (MACC), rolled into Plymouth last Friday for a discussion meeting at Plymouth Town Hall. Billed as a "listening tour", this meeting is part of a state-wide effort to develop ideas of ways for the state government to work more closely, and efficiently, with local governments.
There was at least one very familiar face among the panel members. Former Plymouth town manager, Mark Sylvia, now Director of the state Division of Green Communities, happily greeted many of his former co-workers. At one point, Sylvia shared a moment with Selectman, Dicky Quintal. We're not sure what they discussed, but we suspect it was not the $101,000 payout that Sylvia received on his way out the door last winter, as they both appeared to be smiling.
One of the more interesting presenters was Dolores Mitchell, Executive Director of the Group Insurance Commission. Essentially, the GIC helps municipalities save significant money by providing employee health insurance through the state process, rather than group policies negotiated by each individual group of employees. Due to the available economies of scale, Cities and Towns can save significant money by providing employee benefits through the GIC. But individual employee groups have been slow to accept the new approach. According to Mitchell, only 26 municipalities are presently taking advantage of this money-saving option, presumably unwilling to trade local control for significant savings to the taxpayers. perhaps if this trade off were re-cast, it might be better received. Mitchell mentioned that the Town of Swampscot saved enough money from the switch to the GIC that it was able to avoid twelve teacher layoffs. If some thought were given to splitting the savings, we might even achieve a win-win result.
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