Janitor Contract Addresses New Pension Plan

As municipalities nationwide are saddled burgeoning pension costs, a new contract for Westport school custodians lays the groundwork for potentially switching to the less-costly equivalent of a 401K in the future.

In the contract, which was approved Monday night by the Board of Education, it's stipulated that all employees hired after July 1, 2010 will have to switch pension plans "if and when the Board of Education establishes a defined-contribution plan for non-certified employees." There are 56 custodians working in the schools.

"This is a really good deal considering what's going on [in the economy]," said Elliott Landon, superintendent of schools, about the new contract.

School and municipal employees have traditionally had defined benefit pension plans, which guarantees payouts regardless of how well the investments perform. By switching to defined contribution plan, individual employees are responsible for their own money. If the stock market declines, the employees are burdened with the loss rather than the town.

When the stock market collapsed in 2008, Westport and other towns found themselves struggling to funnel enough money into fulfilling pension obligations. In the 2010-11 budget, $8.3 million  was the recommended town contribution to the fund. The year before, it was it approximately $4 million.

In order to fund the pensions, cuts had to be made in other areas and the need to negotiate cheaper contracts was stressed by finance officials.

The new contract also removes some perks while adding guaranteed pay increases for the next three years to the tune of 1.5 percent, 2 percent and 2.5 percent. Last year, wages were frozen.  

Elaine Whitney, a member of the board who was involved in the negotiations, said the proposal was "mutually agreeable" and that some of the changes are "very important for giving the town and the Board of Ed. some additional options to reduce the pension costs."

With an eye toward cost-savings, all janitors 65 years or older will now have the federal government's Medicare as a primary insurer rather than a private company. Employee contributions for health care have also increased.

Meanwhile, a hole which allowed employees collected Workman's Compensation will not be able to accrue vacation, sick and personal days.

The custodians are not unionized, but were represented by the National Association of Government Employees. The organization has a regional office in Cromwell. No representatives were immediately available for comment.

Other Board of Education News

The board accepted a $25,000 gift of a temporary scorer's shed at Parker Field. The shed, which allows scorekeepers to have a clear view of the field and can store equipment, was donated by the Staples Field Hockey Booster Club. Also, a presentation of recommendations gleaned from a 2009 survey about special education was presented to the board. The school year stars on Sept. 1.