BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS- An Act Authorizing the Government Employers in the County of Dukes To Establish A Pooled Other Post Employment Benefit Trust Fund (OPEB) sponsored by Representative Timothy R. Madden of Nantucket, was signed into law last week and is now Chapter 149 of the Acts of 2010.

In January of 2009, the Massachusetts General Court enacted Chapter 479 of the Acts of 2008, which authorized individual towns, districts and counties, including the County of Dukes, to create Other Post Employment Benefit Trust Funds (OPEB). OPEB benefits are retirement benefits other than a pension, such as health, life and other insurance for which employers have a liability for current and future retired employees. 

The 15 municipal employers in Dukes County have already been pooling their retirement funds in the Dukes County Contributory Retirement System since 1939. The Act creates a means to pool post- retirement benefit trust funds which will reduce the cost per invested dollar, as a further goal of attracting higher caliber investment managers and will serve to offset the rising costs of health insurance. It is similar to that which permits the retirement liability to be forward funded under the Public Employment Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC). The initiative has had support from Dukes County, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, the Land Bank, the Oak Bluffs Water District, the Refuse District, the Regional Transit Authority, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, the Oak Bluffs Water District, all six towns and the Up-Island Regional School District.  

“This is a positive step in the ability of the Dukes County employers to forward-fund their accounts in times of surplus, preparing for times of economic uncertainty,” said Rep. Madden, “representatives of the local municipal employers have done a great job advocating for it this session, particularly Kathy Logue, Noreen Flanders, Russell Smith and Nell Coogan.”  

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Joy Onash of TURI, Jim Miller of the Wampanoag Tribe and Rep. Madden at the State House

BOSTON- Earlier this month Representative Madden joined the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at UMass Lowell to recognize Massachusetts companies and community organizations for reducing the use of toxic chemicals.  The Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah was chosen as a “Community Champion” for their “Greening Cleaning” Project. The Tribe’s initiative is to replace conventional cleaning products in Tribal homes across the Vineyard with those are less harmful to one’s health and the environment. The project team provides sample cleaners for professional home cleaning services and Tribal Administration, as well as provides outreach to the community through printed materials about the hazards and offers feasible alternatives that are safer and less expensive. “This is great project” said Representative Madden. “I am delighted they were able to receive funding and support local merchants by using Eco MV products. As usual the Tribe is leading the way on many environmental issues and I hope their good work will spread to other communities.”