Judge: Trustees Who Gave Themselves Benefits Are on Shaky Legal Ground

Twenty-two years after they voted to give themselves lifetime health coverage, a group of former trustees will likely lose those benefits for good after a judge's decision.

In a preliminary ruling, state Supreme Court Justice Emmett Murphy said former trustees "have not met their high burden of proof" in arguing the last trustee board overreached when it took away the benefits in April. The judge denied a request for a preliminary injunction which would have forced the village to keep paying the benefits for the duration of the lawsuit.

Mayor Dennis Pilla called it a "significant decision" and in an e-mail said the village would save more than $1.8 million by dropping the benefits.

Under the original resolution passed in 1988 (*), any elected or appointed official who served more than 10 years was eligible for full health coverage. Their dependents were eligible too, and officials could also choose to take cash payments instead of the health insurance coverage.

Former Trustee John McCrory and former Mayor John Branca -- who was elected to the new board this year -- took the payouts at $4,800 a year and $7,700 a year, respectively, as did former Treasurer Robert Reardon. Reardon collected more than $7,000 from the village each year, in addition to a state pension.

The seven former trustees argued the benefits should be treated as their property. But Murphy said the trustees were always on shaky ground.

They "rely upon town resolutions and a 22 year past practice of affording coverage" but the benefits were never bound by contract, the judge wrote.

"It is well settled that a municipal resolution is, in general, a unilateral action that is temporary in nature," Murphy said in the preliminary ruling.

In the meantime, the village was ordered to help the former trustees find new health insurance within 20 days. The judge also said the former beneficiaries could continue under the village's health plan -- if they pay for it themselves.

Pilla warned the suit is not over, but the ruling is a step forward for the village.

Port Chester faces tabs in the millions for repairs to its crumbling sewers and waterfront sea wall, and money is tight as the economy sputters and competition is steep for federal cash. Most of the new board campaigned on fiscal responsibility, and spending has been a contentious issue in meetings.

To read a .pdf copy of the judge's preliminary ruling, click the thumbnail at the top of this story.

(*) Port Chester's board of trustees passed lifetime health benefits in 1988. A previous version of this article included the wrong date.