Officials advocate for single payer health care

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on November 21, 2008

If a new presidential administration in Washington, D.C., could do one thing to help Amherst's budget problems, it might be to solve the issue of rising health care costs for municipal employees, according to town officials.

Town Manager Larry Shaffer said the expected cash shortfall Amherst has experienced in recent years is being driven almost exclusively by escalating health care costs. Shaffer estimates that 12 to 13 cents of every dollar the town spends goes toward health care.

If the country had a single-payer health care system or some other form of nationalized health care, this would provide the most immediate financial relief possible to a town like Amherst, which is facing a projected $2.66 million gap between revenues and expenses in next year's budget. "If you're looking for the home run, that's the home run," Shaffer said.

Select Board member Diana Stein said the municipal health budget is $2.7 million, and rises to $11 million when school employees are added in. Having a universal, publicly financed health care would help.

Stein said these health care costs could be removed from the budget through a single-payer system.

<h4>Town manager review</h4>

With the evaluation of town manager Larry Shaffer nearing completion, Select Board members are trying to determine the best way to release their comments about his performance.

Last year, board Chairman Gerry Weiss compiled the written comments from other board members into a general summary, with the individual comments remaining anonymous. But he said this doesn't seem to make sense this year and is too time consuming.

Board member Stephanie O'Keeffe said Weiss should only do this if his efforts at synthesizing the comments would add value to the review.

Her preferred option would be for each board member's review to be released to the public. "It's a fully reasonable thing to do, and I don't know why we wouldn't do it," O'Keeffe said.

Weiss, Stein and Alisa Brewer all said they are comfortable with this approach, while new board member Aaron Hayden is not participating in the review.

Since former board member Anne Awad already provided a written review, Weiss said he will speak to her about whether she is willing to have her comments identified as her own or whether her comments should go into a folder with anonymous comments made by other town employees.

<h4>Another blog</h4>

Town Meeting member Clare Bertrand is the latest Amherst resident to offer her insights into town happenings and local politics through a blog.

Bertrand recently launched her Web site, where she offered opinions on the recently completed session of fall Town Meeting. Her Nov. 18 entry begins: "The good news is we finished last night; the bad news is we didn't finish until around 10:15 p.m. And it was a painful night for some reason."

Bertrand joins Select Board member Stephanie O'Keeffe, Town Manager Larry Shaffer and Town Meeting members Larry Kelley and Gavin Andresen in having blogs.

Her blog can be found at www.clarebertrand.blogspot.com

<h4>Farmers' market</h4>

The weekly farmers' market will continue this Saturday, extending it one week beyond its normal closing weekend.

The Select Board authorized the permit this week for John Spinetti, the president of the market.

<h4>Meetings</h4>

MONDAY: Personnel Board, 9 a.m., First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall; Amherst Cultural Council, 6 p.m., Jones Library; Select Board, 6:30 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.

TUESDAY: Kendrick Park Recreation Subcommittee, 6:30 p.m., First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall; Amherst Pelham Regional School, Committee, 7 p.m., library, Amherst Pelham Regional High School.

THURSDAY: Town Offices are closed today.

FRIDAY: Town Offices are closed today.