First Selectman Robert Koskelowski won’t be taking much with him when he leaves office next month: his unpaid earned vacation days, memories of his years of service to the town and satisfaction with being a private citizen once again.
Oh, and his life insurance.
“I just want to make sure any funeral costs are covered,” Koskelowski told the board, who then joked that $50,000 would plenty.
The Board of Selectmen voted to allow Koskelowski to retain his life insurance policy, through the town, after he leaves office. No previous First Selectman has retained that benefit past their term.
“No one ever asked before,” was Koskelowski’s answer to why he would be the town’s first.
The board’s approval of Koskelowski’s proposal is not directly a gift to the 65-year-old. While it is the first extension of life insurance benefits to the First Selectman in the town, the town itself won’t be paying for it.
Koskelowski will maintain a $50,000 life insurance policy under the town’s employee coverage group. Unlike active town employees though, he will pay the premiums on the policy himself.
The town will be billed for Koskelowski’s coverage as part of the town plan. Koskelowski will then be responsible to reimburse the town. He may also have to reimburse the town for administrative fees incurred from having the town manage the billing.
Koskelowski may also have to prepay his coverage at least one month in advance.
The exact details on what those fees might be and exactly how many months Koskelowski would need to prepay are unavailable. At this juncture, there is no policy that actually governs the extension of life insurance benefits to any town employee.
Selectman Kurt Miller emphasized the need to put a firm and well-defined policy in place to avoid this instance from being used for political leverage in the future.
The board is expected to approve the specifics of an extension program for First Selectmen at the next meeting. The lack of a solid policy did not curtail a vote, and the measure passed with both Koskelowski and First Selectman-elect Paul Roy stepping down and recusing themselves.
The vote was not met without some opposition.
Finance board member Michele Pavlik took a copy of the town budget up to the Board of Selectmen’s table and asked Koskelowski to identify what line item included his insurance benefit.
After a moment flipping through the budget and trying to identify the exact line item, Koskelowski said he didn’t know exactly where it was in the budget but it was covered.
Pavlik said she took offense to a vote on extending such a benefit was being undertaken without the benefit of a public hearing. As a budget item, she said the public should have input on the matter: especially a public in which many individuals cannot themselves afford insurance.
The board, led by Koskelowski, took the position that a hearing was not necessary because the extension would not result in any extra spending on the town’s part so long as Koskelowski was reimbursing the town.
Since he will most likely have to pay his premium in advance, the town will have a safeguard in the event he fails to make a payment.
In order to help keep his payment manageable, Koskelowski is actually taking a lower coverage level than he held as First Selectman. While serving the town his policy was worth $100,000. The highest policy he could reasonably afford on the town’s plan was $50,000.
The money and Koskelowski’s ability to pay wasn’t really the crux of Pavlik’s complaint, though.
“It’s not just because there is or is not a financial impact to the town,” she said to the board. “The public does deserve to have input on matters that concern the town.”
Pavlik said she would have felt better about the proposed arrangement if it were presented as a policy available to all town employees and put to public scrutiny before a vote.
Koskelowski likened the coverage extension to the same sort of arrangement private citizens can make under COBRA.
In the end, Koskelowski said he just wants to enjoy his later years and his family and be assured that when his time comes the funeral expenses are covered.
