Towns seek to limit cost of veterans services

Ashland, Holliston, Hopkinton and Medway on July 12 received preliminary approval to create a customized version of a veterans services district, a step the communities are pursuing in order to control their costs.

Holliston, Hopkinton and Medway have been sharing a veterans agent, and Ashland’s veterans agent has served the town at a modest cost, but both agents are retiring this summer, according to Ashland Town Manager John Petrin. Hiring a separate veterans agent for each town would cost each community a good deal more than it has paid in the past, he said.

The total population of the four towns is about 58,000. According to the state’s “Guide for Establishing Veterans Services Districts,” a district serving a population of such size must have a full-time director, a full-time veterans agent, and a full-time clerical staffer. According to Petrin, the annual cost would be $200,000 – in the neighborhood of $50,000 per year for each town (pro-rated based on population).

“We’re arguing that that’s unrealistic, from a financial basis as well as a needs basis,” Petrin said.

The four towns proposed a district in which there would be a full-time director but no veterans agent, with clerical support being provided by existing staff. The cost would be around $20,000 for each town.

“For the towns, the issue comes down to providing a service that meets the need and can also fit within the budget constraints of the time,” states the proposal, created by Petrin and other local officials.

In making its case, the proposal notes that Ashland has eliminated the equivalent of nine full-time positions over the past few years, and overall staffing is far below the optimal level outlined in the town’s strategic plan.

A final decision on the veterans services district is expected soon, according to Jennifer Kritz, communications director in the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.