Saugus teachers contract could face new challenge

SAUGUS – Any hope that a special Town Meeting would be held prior to the November elections was dashed this week, which means the issue of funding the teacher’s contract will be turned over to a potentially green group.Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said he would need Town Meeting’s approval to fund the contract, but he didn’t plan on calling for a special meeting until after Thanksgiving.Town Moderator Robert Long hoped it would be sooner than that.Long said he was initially hoping Bisignani would call for the meeting prior to the November election only because the sitting meeting members were well versed on the issue.Unfortunately for Long, time is up.Given the time constraints involved in posting the meeting, getting the warrant out and the fact that two selectmen are out of town, there is not enough time to set a meeting prior to Nov. 6.”The board (of Selectmen) would have had to post a meeting (Tuesday) to meet Thursday to call for the special Town Meeting,” Long said. “It would be a tight timeline.”Long said because of the implications of the vote, the new meeting members would have to be brought up to speed quickly.The Saugus Educators Association contract was officially ratified last week, giving teachers a 2.75 percent increase each year for the next five years. The week before, the teachers also voted to sign onto the state’s healthcare plan, Group Insurance Commission (GIC).Bisignani admitted he is planning to fund the contract with a transfer from the medical trust account, which should experience a savings since the town will sign onto the GIC in January.”The expectation is that with the GIC there will be a surplus in fiscal year ?08,” Bisignani said. “At least that’s what the consultant told us, because it will be a premium-based plan instead of self-funding.”Bisignani said a premium-based plan results in a fixed cost – one he won’t actually know until the premium rates are set in December.Funding the teachers contract will cost the town between $325,000 and $350,000 per year. Bisignani said he felt the savings through the GIC – even the pro-rated savings for the first year – would be more than enough to cover the contract.”In 2009, the savings should be even greater because we will have had the plan for a whole year,” he added.As for the cost of the teacher’s contract Bisignani said, “You have to spend a quarter to save a $1,” though he and everyone involved stopped short of linking the teachers’ agreement to join the GIC with the settlement of their contract.If it is new Town Meeting members that must sort through the details to determine a yea or nay vote, Bisignani said, “So be it.”