LIVERMORE FALLS — The select board voted to increase the reimbursement for two employees who have health insurance they obtain through their spouses rather than taking town insurance from $172 a month to $315 a month for the rest of 2010-11, town administrator Kurt Schaub said.

Two employees participate in the same program through their spouses’ employer and the cost of that plan will increase dramatically in 2011, which would cause those workers to switch to the town plan to avoid the financial impact, he said.

There was some room left for increased participation in the town insurance, but it was used up through an unanticipated mid-year enrollment, he said.

If two more employees were added to the health plan this year, he said, it would have resulted in a deficit for the year of about $5,200.

Schaub said he brought the issue to the select board’s attention on Dec. 6 and gave them three options to review.

The board voted to increase the reimbursement for each of the two employees by $143 each month, which would result in the overall insurance budget having in the worst-case scenario a projected $1,700 deficit.

Other town insurances have either had premium decreases or increases that came in under budget, Schaub said.

He plans to budget $315 a month for the two employees through Dec. 31, 2011, as suggested by the board, to keep it in line with the benefit year. Selectpersons also decided the insurance benefit and reimbursement program should be the subject of a larger conversation when considering the 2011-12 budget.

The board also voted on Dec. 6 to renew a liquor license and grant a special amusement permit for the Clubhouse Tavern on Maple Lane.

The facility is in compliance with the Special Amusement Permit Ordinance, Schaub said.

He also informed the board that the town’s GMC truck had weighed in at 24,840 pounds with the plow and wing attached plus a full load of sand.

The truck was originally registered at 32,000 pounds, but at that weight it prohibits an operator without a commercial driver’s license from driving it, Schaub said. The board agreed that the truck could be registered at 26,000 pounds to allow drivers with a Class C – passenger vehicle license to drive it.

Schaub said all town trucks have been registered for years on the heavy side, ever since a former employee was ticketed in a town truck for operating above the registered weight.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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