VASSALBORO — Selectmen and Road Commissioner Eugene Field are at odds about whether Field is entitled to a town-paid health insurance policy covering his family.

Arriving at the end of Thursday evening’s selectmen’s meeting, Field — the town’s longest-serving employee — asked selectmen to honor a health insurance provision in the town’s 1992 personnel policy.

According to Field, the 1992 policy says the town will pay for a family health insurance policy for any employee hired before 1990, as he was. He said that in 1992, then-Town Manager Gary Brown encouraged employees who could get coverage through their spouses’ insurance plans to do so, to save the town money.

Field did, but his wife now has lost her coverage, so Field asked for family coverage through the town.

Selectmen Philip Haines and Lauchlin Titus are not ready to grant it. The town has given only individual coverage, not family coverage, for years, they said; and since 1992, costs have increased substantially.

If he is not given coverage, Field said, he will know that the town’s word is not good and the current selectmen do not honor prior boards’ promises.

Haines and Titus postponed a decision until the third board member, Robert Browne, can be at a meeting.

Field raised the issue in anticipation of adoption of the new personnel handbook selectmen and Town Manager Mary Sabins have worked on since August. The new written policy provides only individual insurance coverage paid for by the town.

On Thursday evening, selectmen reviewed comments from attorney Matthew Tarasevich, accepting most of his suggested changes.

Sabins intends to have a final copy of the personnel handbook ready for approval at the next selectmen’s meeting, scheduled for Nov. 22 (a Tuesday, because their regular Thursday meeting would have occurred on Thanksgiving).

In other business Thursday evening, transfer station manager George Hamar said Vassalboro will observe recycling week with an informational open house at the transfer station from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday and Sunday, assisted by Boy Scouts.

Selectmen accepted a bid of $8,960 from Maroon Flooring of Waterville for new carpet for the Town Office. Sabins said the office staff chose the color.

Mary Grow is a Kennebec Journal correspondent who lives in China.

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