FAIRFIELD - Leaders of two of the town's biggest unions say they don't object to reviewing health-care plans negotiated in their unions' current contracts, acknowledging the agreements allow for that.
But rising health insurance costs are only one reason the 2004-05 town budget looks to be tough on taxpayers, said Officer Grant Dalling, president of the local police union, and Firefighter Hank Ference, president of the local firefighter union.
"If we can make a change that's not an adverse effect on the coverage, then let's make the change," Dalling said. "But all that has to be spelled out in black and white."
Revisiting the health insurance plan for firefighters "seems like a reasonable thing to me," Ference said.
"When they present something concrete, we'll sit down and talk to it," he said of town officials.
Brian Jennings, president of the union representing Department of Public Works employees, didn't return a call for comment Friday.
First Selectman Kenneth Flatto warned last week that the 2004-05 budget could be "unbelievably tough," and pointed to rising health-care costs for town employees as a reason.
The cost of health insurance for the town's 500 active employees averaged $387,311 a month in the first six months of this fiscal year
up 33 percent from the $292,140 monthly average in 2002-03, according to town officials.
Dalling said the town administration has overlooked the problem of rising health insurance costs and that was not the fault of town unions.
Dalling and Ference said the increase in the 2004-05 overall town budget, which Flatto is scheduled to unveil early next month, also should be viewed in light of all the recent school and town construction projects.
"It's just another cost," Ference said of health insurance for town employees, "and that's what Mr. Flatto decided to talk about that day."
In a letter to newspapers, Dalling said town unions are "not going to be the scapegoats for the entire, town-wide, out-of-control spending issues."
The cost of providing health insurance for active town employees in 2002-03, the last complete fiscal year, was $3.5 million
2 percent of the overall town budget of $169.4 million that year.
So far this fiscal year, the cost is $2.3 million, with six months left to go.
The Board of Education's health insurance costs totaled $9.1 million in 2002-03, or 5.4 percent of the overall town budget that year.
That $9.1 million amount stayed constant in the current school board budget of $100.8 million.
However, in 2004-05, Supt. of Schools Ann Clark proposes that $10.4 million be set aside for health insurance, an increase of 14 percent.
Flatto has not made public his proposed town-side budget for 2004-05, which would include the amount he plans to set aside for town employees' health insurance.
Last week, Flatto said $8,400 was set aside per town employee in the current budget. But that figure could rise to $12,000 in 2004-05, he said.