PLAINFIELD — Residents at a special Town Meeting next Tuesday, Sept. 9, will be asked to accept a donated 1988 GMC van to be used by the town’s volunteer Fire Department, along with a request to transfer $1,000 from the stabilization fund to the Recreation Committee.
The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in Town Hall, located at 348 Main St.
The GMC van was previously donated by the Hampshire County Defense Association. With the approval of residents, the vehicle would be used by the Plainfield Volunteer Firefighters Association.
The $1,000 transfer of funds to the Recreation Committee would be used to cover an insurance deductible after the town filed for damages to the backstop at the baseball field.
Meanwhile, while towns throughout the region are trying to figure out how to cover unexpected 20% increases to employee health insurance starting Oct. 1, Plainfield’s accountant Paula King says, “The town will be OK.”
The Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust, which covers 12,000 employees in 73 communities, will begin charging 20% more for health insurance costs starting Oct. 1. The increase is mostly due to rises in costs associated with GLP-1 weight loss injections.
The Trust has lost some $14 million in the past year and a half, from $20 million in January 2024 to $5 million in July of this year. Weight loss medications, which are being used by 400 municipal employees and cost the trust $1,500 a month per employee, were identified as a root cause for the continued losses and will no longer be covered moving forward except for employees who have Type 2 diabetes.
King said in a phone call Tuesday that the town does not anticipate layoffs or other impacts that other towns are experiencing as a result of the unexpected midyear increase.
She was not able to say what the increase will be this fiscal year, but according to the town’s fiscal year 2026 budget, the town anticipated paying $68,040 for insurance. This would mean a hike of approximately $14,000.
When asked where this money will be drawn from, whether it be stabilization or free cash reserves, King could not provide details.
Other communities are grappling with the increases. South Hadley, for instance, is dipping into free cash to cover its $1.2 million increase, though some other cost-cutting measures are being explored. Belchertown is covering its $911,000 insurance by borrowing money from the town’s stabilization fund and making cuts to operating budgets.