I gave you some more amounts there just to it's I'm not trying to tell you what to do. Please, just cuz I put a number there, I'm trying to visually show you some numbers. So, I'm visually showing if we covered half of it, that's how much the cost would be to the employee. It'd be half of the $89. It'd be $40 instead of 90. It'd be 45. So, again, right, wrong, however we feel, those are the decisions we need. We need to know maximum out of pocket and what to do with that. Does it do we have a shared cost knowing that next year we might not have some flexibility and we might have to 100% put the increases to the employees? What's best for our employees to ease them into these increases? The district will not be able to cover them. So I mean I I these are just thoughts and there's no right or wrong and I don't have I don't have an opinion.
Snowy night. Incredible music though. Uh, the kids did great. So, uh, thanks once again to for their efforts and thanks everybody for such a beautiful concert. Concert series continues. Visit ashammusic.org. or uh to find out more. The Boy Scout pancake breakfast and silent auction will be on Sunday, March 22nd, um at the VFW, 6:30 to 12, I think, or maybe a little later than that. No, actually, no, it's 9. >> I'm sorry. It's like there's some some of us are going to try to volunteer, so like we have to be there at a certain time, but um but yeah, um great community event. Uh please try to take it in, get your tickets, support the Boy Scouts. They support this community immensely and do a lot around town to to make Ashlin great. And uh March 8th is International Women's Day and March is Women's History Month.
I'm giving you information. Is there any other information I can give you to help you guys start this conversation? Make sure I understand the questions that are being asked of us. >> We're being askedre the max out of pocket. >> Do we also want to increase the one for employee plus spouse employee plus children of 10% or 13%. Are those the two things we're being asked or are we also being asked if we want to start cost sharing? That is the it's first answer the max out of pocket. Do are we going to increase our insurance by 10% or 13.4 and then once we make that decision then the decision is how much of the whichever number you come up with if you keep it 13.4 how much of the 13.4 is going to go on to the employees that is the question. Is there going to be a cost share or is there going to be what?
So um great opportunity to find out uh more and study up more on the contributions of women uh not just in public life but in beyond and beyond. So that's what I >> And hockey especially hockey. That's right. >> USA. USA. Thank you. Thank you, Makita Claudia. >> Um, yeah. So, I didn't have much here. I just I did attend the concom meeting and I did want to note that um they they they did a great job. They were they are very structured and um they kind of laid out the parameters the particular uh areas that they have um you know oversight of and so I think it was helpful hopefully to um to everyone involved so that as they go forward um everybody understands what what the uh what what they'll be looking at and and uh so it was a very very good meeting.
Whatever you guys come up with. Yeah. question you're asking is if the district is going to start cost sharing with employees >> not start we have in the past we just the last five years have been very um intentional with the decision- making and those decisions allowed us to not have to put the cost on to employees >> let me so when you say cost sharing >> I'm saying that not cost sharing this if no if we take no action employees cost will go up either 9% % or 10% or 13.4%. If we discuss the district sharing some of the employees cost, it's not employee sharing. This is their cost is going up. We have insurance. It's going up. Last year it went up 4%. We made a decision in here to cover the employees portion. The district covered the employees portion 100%. >> Okay.
Um That's Oh, and then yeah, well, we already talked that that death, so everything else been talked about. I'm good. Thank you. >> Okay, Brandy. >> Um, so I've been working on some budget stuff. Um, so just budget stuff. >> Yep. >> Including the the uh the public forum that we're going to have. So, um, the things that are coming up that were really interesting, um, not interesting, that's not the word. Heck, um, we have the Eagle Scout Court of Honor that we were invited to, Austin Turncliffe. Um, so I think Joe and I are going to go to that. So, congratulations in advance to Austin. We're excited to be there and to be a part of that. Um, and then there's a couple things that I just wanted to just mention. So, one, um, Yolanda had sent me a link. We get a lot of emails from MMA as you guys all know.
>> So that's what we're asking. Again, >> I'm trying to get the groups together. So, we're saying just employees and then the category for employee and spouse and then employee and children. Do we want to increase those three? >> No, it's all or none. It's all of it. It's not just specific categories. I'm just tell showing you the cost of those. >> Everybody want to start paying 10% of the cost or do we want to start paying 13% of the cost? >> No, >> I don't think that's right. I'm sorry. I'm not explaining it correctly. So, can someone help? >> Because I know you said that it will be an increase of the monthly premium. >> The monthly premium to employees will increase either 10% or 13% based on everybody's decision in here today. >> The decision about the max out of >> if we if we raise max out of pocket costs, the premiums only increase 10%.
>> Um, but Yolanda had sent me a link to a webinar that's coming up on March 17th. >> Yeah. >> Um, to which is visually communicate your municipal budget. So, um, maybe make it a little bit more, I don't know, engaging. I'm hoping something that we can bring to the public as part of this budget discussion. Um, so that's coming up on March 17th. And I was having a conversation with Claudia about MMA. We were actually we were talking about um AI because like I've just recently found AI. It's a new >> It's a good find. Um >> Oh, have you now? >> Have you heard about this thing called AI? >> Have Have you heard about the AI thing? >> So, um and so like we were just having a conversation about the some of the the good things about AI. And I know there's lots of like guard rails and parameters and things that you want to put in front of doing anything with AI, but I did want to let you guys know there's two webinars on the um on the MMA site that have been from very recently like like February.
If we don't raise the max out of pocket cost, the premiums increase 13%. And then after we've decided whether or not to increase max out of pocket, that's the first real decision, right? Is do we increase the max out of pocket expenditures, then we can decide of the increase that we've chosen, do we want to cost share it or cover it? >> And it comes out of your 750,000. >> Oh. Um, >> okay. Yolanda. And then Kelly. >> Well, I was just going to emphasize I was just going to >> We want to hear your voice. Yes, we do. No, I was just going to basically say the same thing Daniel was explaining other than that 10% that the dis whatever that percentage that the district has been paying would now be or does it did the the decision would be do we split that like the district am I understanding that right Vanessa the district will pay let's say it's 10% will how much will the district pay from that 10% And how much will the employee pay from that?
One that um it's kind of a background and I didn't watch that one. the power of context setting the foundation for AI. And then the second one which was AI and action practical use cases for municipal departments which I thought was really interesting >> um and just ways that it can be utilized in kind of and and and those and those guard rails things that you don't want to put into an AI, you know, large language model or anything like that, but um just ways that it could make people's lives just a little bit more efficient. So, um, nothing ever replaces people. We're in a people place. But, um, sometimes I I I I have marveled at some of the things that AI is capable of doing, especially when it's comparing documents or um, you know, >> resumes >> or Yeah. or you're looking for specific things.
>> The district's cost is going up 10% and 13% too. The district is already paying the district will have to pay 458,000 or 615,000 either one depending upon your decision more than we paid last year. So, we are already taking a half a million dollar increase on the district side that the district already has to pay for based on what we cover. The percentage of the health insurance that we cover. No matter what, we're going up that much. The employees section that the employees are responsible for also goes up. The way that you mitigate that is the district covers more or less of it or more of it or none of it. >> So are we talking about cost share? >> We already cost share because people have a premium. We already have a cost share. You pay $89 a month to get insurance. That's your cost share of how much that insurance cost.
>> I would recommend at some point if we could get a discussion on the agenda about AI policy, use policy. um you know going forward this is this is actually an this is actually an area I'm very familiar with. I've traveled across the country and given um seminars not just on how to use AI but how to use it ethically and also how to to use it from a technical standpoint as well. I've been doing it for the past two and a half years because you know I'm in it. But that I think at this point now that you know MMA and you and you and other folks have discovered it, it might be time to get a conversation going. Um I'm not familiar if the schools have a have a declared policy on it yet as well, but I think that's something that we as a town have to take a look at and and maybe have some discussions about coming up.
You pay $89 a month for it and for the for So we already have a cost share. When you say cost share, I guess I'm not understanding what you're saying. So each month, this insurance plan cost $89 for the employee and it cost $128 for the district. So we have a cost share. >> Let me just one at a time. So everybody's mind confusing. When I think of cost share, I mean like cuz right because right now if you're an employee on your own right now, you're not paying um out of each paycheck, you're not paying >> one plan, >> your health insurance. What we're discussing now on is after we decide how much we're going to raise whatever it was max, we're going to start talking about cost sharing >> possibility. >> Yes. >> Just employee pay. Yeah, they have to pay for part of it.
So I would ask consider >> so on that when I send out the email about >> agenda setting meetings and stuff and topics please send that along to me as a reminder and we'll put it on the agenda. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> But anyway, I just wanted to >> Yep. >> because we were talking that it might be useful in in the community um in in the town. Yeah. >> Right. And um you know, just a funny story. I asked um Cindy for a a voter list, but I I wanted to um I was trying to see if I could find it online because it's public document, right? And so I plugged it into AI and AI, you know, said, "Well, you should do this. Contact your town clerk." and gave Cindy's name, gave address, phone number, and then it said you you might also find it here and I can also um contact the um town clerk's office for you.
Whether you're a single employee getting the base, you might end up having to pay. That's what we're deciding. If you have dependent, you would have to pay out of your paycheck. The but the first thing that we're talking about is just the 10% or 13%. Then the second thing is how much is the employee going to have to pay or are they not going to have to pay and there's >> everyone kept telling no and trying to explain different cost sharing but >> but we're not starting cost sharing we're continuing cost sharing >> well before employe single employee change in that plan so the single employees are still a zero cost portion. So, the district is covering, they didn't change any of the percentages in the plan of what the district covers. So, the district covers 100% of the single uh base plan. The district covers X percent.
And um so I I said to her, "Be on the lookout. You might get an email from from I don't know who requesting it." So >> but but that's the thing, right? And that's why, you know, I think in so far as like how the town uses it and how boards and commissions use it, there needs to be some kind of a policy set for that. >> That would be something that we would have to sit down. >> Yeah. >> And when I attended the storm water meeting, they were asking for um they were looking talking about, you know, storm water fees and and that and um I so they were trying to compare it to other towns. And so I looked that up and it and it actually said, "Oh, well, we'll give you a full report in 24 hours." They haven't I just looked again, but I haven't done that yet.
It's on that other sheet. I can flip back and forth if I need to. The district covers a percentage of each one of these plans. We didn't change the percentages. So, if we if we covered 40% of the employee and spouse, we're still covering 40% of the employee and spouse, whatever the the math is right here. And I, you know, there's another sheet that we shared that showed how much the district covers. We're not changing the percentage that we cover of the plan. The plan itself is getting more expensive. So, it used to be a $1,000 plan and now it's a $1,200 plan. we're still covering 100 or 40 or whatever our percentage is. >> So, back to my first question. So, we're also going to discuss if if we're going to increase the dollar amount that people pay in their monthly preo or per paycheck for employee with spouse and employee with children.
>> Be aware of hallucinations there. If you're not using a paid version, you will get a lot of them. >> A lot of them. Yeah. >> Um, that's not true. I say you might be more danger because they're using different quality engines. >> I'm actually using a beta tester that my nephew created. >> So that's that's fun. I am. >> So, so I I think it does I think it does warrant a discussion. We should >> Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. >> Anything else? >> That's it. That's it for me. >> Thank you so much. >> Yep. So, we'll put that on. Just remind me. Put it on the agenda. So, Makita, send me off an email. That would be cool. >> I'm emailing you right now, J. >> Thank you so much. All righty. Um I had we had to postpone our uh roadway traffic study committee uh meeting because of the blizzard and uh the guys needed to sleep.
Those two boxes, >> the amount of money they pay for paycheck is going to increase. That what we're voting on today. >> Yes. >> Okay. That's why said >> Kelly, did you have a question? option on the table. Are we there? >> I have a question. >> I do want to show the percentages. 100% 57% 69 for employee and children, 51% for employee family. Um that's how much the district covers. So in every plan that the district covers 50% or more of the plan out of the out of the district side. So we're not changing those percentages. We'll still cover 51% but the plan's expensive. So they're paying 49% their 49% of it is going up. What we did last year is the same thing happened last year. It was 4%. Their plan would have gone up 4%. The district side went up 4%. We chose to cover >> to absorb that >> and absorb that 4% cost to the employees.
They didn't have to sit around and listen to you know complaints about stop signs and speeders and so on and so forth. So we're probably going to schedule that um in a couple of weeks. Uh so we'll be meeting there. Council on Aging are meeting tomorrow at 10:30 at the community center and I'm sure they'll have a lot to advise me about especially when it comes to the budgets. They're they're very concerned and rightfully so as we all are, but they they they're feeling it even more so. Um they're doing a great job. I know that uh Candi has been involved with the uh the repairs and the revitalization of of the uh community center itself. And I advised her, I suggested to her that she get a hold of the uh uh Hawkington Laborers Training Council uh center uh to do the uh the patio, the side patio over there because they're always looking for side work to do to teach these guys how to masonary work, leveling off, things of that nature.