2008-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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weekly payrolls for the Town and the School, payroll ensure compliance with various collective bargaining deductions as well as maintenance of all salary related agreements and continue to stay abreast of employ t y p g chanes and paying all payroll vendors. ment laws. 'I i 1 In July, we successfully implemented several Respectfully submitted, health insurance changes prompted by the adoption of Marilyn Farren, Chapter 32, Section 18, which means that retirees, Human Resources Director 1 jspouses and surviving spouses who are retired and eli- gible for Medicare through Social Security were I required to enroll in Medicare Parts A & B. By vot- ing Section 18, the savings to the Town is approxi- Report of the mately $14,330 a month. Human Services Department Also,in keeping up with the new responsibilities under the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law,we To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and Citizens have accomplished setting up an additional pre-tax of the Town of Mashpee plan for employees who are not eligible to have the town's health insurance, setting up an account with the The year 2008 was a very busy one for the Commonwealth of Ma. Health Connector, assisting Human Services Department. It has been a smooth employees in having payroll deductions for the com- transition from Louise Patrick's departure in the sum. monwealth plan, and filing a Health Insurance mer 2008 to Gail Wilson starting the position in early Responsibility Disclosure (H.LR.D.) form with the October 2008. Due to the severe economic hardship, Division of Health Care and Finance. people were struggling financially to make ends meet and therefore the role of the Human Services The Human Resources staff coordinated training Department was vital in helping with resources;com- through the Employee Assistance Program representa- pleting Fuel Assistance applications and providing tive who trained fifteen employees on Performance counseling. Appraisal and sixteen employees on Stress Management. Approximately twenty employees Clinical counseling requests were the highest attended a workshop which was presented on this year. Many of the clients that were attending Financial Planning and Management. Professional counseling with Louise Patrick continued counseling Development courses were offered to employees with Gail Wilson. The request for Fuel Assistance through Barnstable County. We also coordinated applications increased this year and three volunteers three nutrition workshops on Eating Healthy which helped individuals under the age of 60 complete the were hosted by a nutritionist from the Cape Cod applications. Information and referral requests were Cooperative Extension program. Human Resource significantly higher than last year due to individuals staff attended Safety Training, an informational work- struggling to pay utility bills, obtaining food or need- shop on Private Fee for Service Health Plans, a ing Christmas help. Consumerism workshop which included wellness, better awareness of health insurance coverage,the cost The Department continues to interact with other of health insurance, and retiree plans. town departments in order to meet the needs of the community. There has been collaboration with the The Human Resources Director attended a four- Senior Center; membership on the Violence day Train-the-Trainer Discrimination Prevention Prevention Team at Mashpee High School; Workshop hosted by MCAD and MIIA (the Town's Attendance at the Domestic Violence breakfast; atten- insurance company). The Town earned 3% rewards dance at The Barnstable County Health and Human credit for participation which will be applied toward a Services Advisory Council and coordinating the deduction off the Town's insurance bill. Human Service Council. For the upcoming year, some of our major activ- The Human Service Council Meeting met in ities will be to continue make every effort to be sup- December. A speaker from Independence House pre- portive to the administration and employees of the sented the services they offer and the connection Town, continue to be more involved with Benefits between the stressful financial times and increased Management, payroll processing, assisting with domestic violence within families. updates within the health and benefit arena, and con- tinuing to audit and update policies and practices to 120