BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Massena Mayor Greg Paquin is calling on the county to consider alternatives to the current worker's compensation plan in an effort to reduce costs for municipalities county wide.

Paquin again addressed the matter during his budget presentation on April 9, saying the county needs to do more to assist "anchor communities" that bear the brunt of the expenses.

For Massena, that cost is slated to rise from $271,480 to $337,512 for fiscal year 2024-25.

Paquin said the substantial increase came after costs had begun to decline slightly.

"It was starting to come down again but then we got clobbered again this past year," he said.

According to Paquin, worker's compensation is a "significant part of the budget" that, if handled differently, could save the village thousands of dollars per year.

On multiple occasions Paquin said he and trustees have met with PERMA to discuss worker's compensation plans, with initial estimates coming in at $150,000.

"Imagine being able to immediately save $180,000 in the budget, just cut that right out," he said.

But the issue of trailing liabilities and the $2.3 million to be paid out poses the biggest issue, Paquin said.

Bonding for the debt is the only option, however according to Village Treasurer Kevin Felt, the maximum term for the bond would be five years.

"We simply can't afford that, we don't have the money," Paquin said.

“By the time we bond, with the bonding in order to get out of that, it was going to cost us $650,000 over the five years, each year. We just can’t afford that,” Paquin said.

According to Paquin, village officials have also met with county officials to discuss their concerns and to potentially take control of the trailing liabilities without any charges.

"They didn't seem very interested," he said.

Paquin said it ultimately falls to the larger communities, which he referred to as "anchor communities", such as Canton, Gouverneur, Massena, Ogdensburg and Potsdam to take up the matter with the county.

"I'm not trying to disparage the smaller communities but we provide services and as a result, the county doesn't have to provide services here," he said.

Paquin said those services include professional fire department drivers, a police department and rescue squad that alleviates the strain on the county.

"If we didn't have a police department, how many more sheriff's (deputies) would the county have to hire just to patrol this area? Then that expense would fall to all taxpayers throughout the county," he said.

"It saves them money and that's an argument I've been trying to get through everyone's head there," Paquin said.

Despite those attempts, he said it appears his argument "has been falling on deaf ears."

According to Paquin, when he broached the subject of the county contracting with PERMA to lower all municipalities' expense for worker's compensation, he was told "they can just put a bid in when it comes up."

"It's very trusting because I think PERMA has shown steady savings for any county, any municipality with them and they just refuse. I don't understand why," he said.

Paquin encouraged leaders of the larger municipalities throughout the county to reach out to PERMA and county legislators to see how they could save on worker's compensation.

"It's very frustrating because we can save the taxpayers a lot of money," Paquin said.