Jan 17, 2019 2 min read

North Strabane Township supervisors voted to make new members of the elected board eligible for township health insurance.

The board voted 3-1 during its Jan. 7 reorganization meeting to allow elected members to opt into the publicly funded plan. The resolution they approved requires supervisors who do so to pay five percent of their yearly salary.

Supervisors are paid $3,250 a year for attending meetings every month. This means contributions for those who decide to be included in the plans will amount to $162.50.

State law says current supervisors won’t be eligible until they start a new term, if they do seek re-election. The resolution makes supervisors and their dependents eligible starting Jan. 1, 2020.

Supervisor Neil Kelly was the sole board member who voted against the plan.

“Of course, it’s only for newly elected supervisors,” Kelly said Tuesday, after the supervisors’ regular meeting. “But I don’t believe that our position warrants such a benefit.”

He estimated that the measure could eventually cost the township “over $100,000” in public funds.

Supervisors Robert Balogh, Marcus Staley and Bob Ross voted in favor. Their colleague Harold Close was absent from that meeting.

Balogh, chairman of the supervisors board, said he made a similar proposal “at least two years ago,” but he said his predecessor as chairman, Brian Spicer, and former township manager Frank Siffrinn “made a case against it.”

“It’s something that is permitted by the state. It’s not anything unusual,” Balogh said. “A lot of townships pick and choose parts of the benefits that they offer – I know a lot of townships offer life insurance to their board members. We don’t do that here, and that’s not part of this package.”

His seat is up for election in November.

“The way that this is put into play, it will equal what any other administrative employee’s plan is,” Balogh said. “As far as plan contributions, it will equal an administrative employee.”