Mayor John Moak said he has sent a letter to the city's employees asking for a date when the unions will vote on whether to join the Blue Cross/Blue Shield tiered health insurance program. The unions voted against joining the state's Group Insurance Commission in September, but the city presented Blue Cross/Blue Shield's program as another alternative.
If the city joins the program, officials estimate it could generate a savings of $500,000.
"We need to do the vote this fall," Moak said.
Newburyport would be one of the first municipalities to join the new Blue Cross/Blue Shield program, the mayor said.
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The Pennies for Poverty: "2 Cents 4 Change" program saw a huge turnout during its three-day food drive outside of Shaw's in Port Plaza last week, reports co-founder Laurie Ingersoll.
"It was so unbelievable," Ingersoll said, adding that the generosity of citizens was "phenomenal." The group received $4,500 worth of food that was split among five local food pantries.
"Everybody stepped up to the plate," Ingersoll said. "It was so heartwarming. The whole community came together to support it."
One family even gave an entire grocery cart filled with food, she said.
"I think everybody's very aware of how difficult times are," Ingersoll said, adding that workers at the Salvation Army predicted the food they received will all be handed out within a week.
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The need to form a Charter Commission and looking into the city's cable service were two goals, among several, discussed by the City Council last week. Councilors re-examined their list of short- and long-term goals that they first formed in March, discussing what progress has been made and what new topics should be added.
Councilor Ed Cameron said he would like the city to move forward with starting a Charter Commission and updating the city's governing document. The current charter is "inadequate," he said, adding that areas need to be looked at, such as whether to lengthen the term for the mayor, stagger the terms for councilors or move to a city manager form of government.
Noting that constituents often voice the difficulty they encounter with Comcast, the city's cable provider, Councilor Barry Connell said he hopes to see the city re-evaluate its cable service.
"There are other vendors available," Connell said.
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It will soon be that time of year again for the blue lights.
Moak said the city will continue to spread the word to citizens about the city's snow emergency notification method — the blue lights come on when a parking ban is in effect. The city has put up an additional three lights this year.
With the huge rise in the cost of salt this year, Moak said, the city will be plowing earlier. In the past, the Public Works crews would pretreat the roads with salt and wait until a certain amount of snow fell before plowing.
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The city will salute its World War II veterans on Nov. 11.
A Veterans' Day ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at City Hall. The Newburyport High School band will perform, as well as the police Color Guard, the Coast Guard Color Guard, Essex County Sheriff's Color Guard. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and Brownies will also attend.
The ceremony is open to the public. For more information, contact Veteran's Service Officer Kevin Hunt at 978-465-4418. Newburyport has 220 World War veterans among the 1,037 veterans and their families living in the city.
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The following meetings have been scheduled:
Monday
School Committee, 6:30 p.m., Newburyport High Room 118
Moseley Woods, 6:30 p.m., Institute for Savings
Waterfront Trust, 7 p.m., library
Tuesday
Diversity and Tolerance Commission, 3 p.m., police station
Wednesday
Library Board of Directors, 5:15 p.m., library
Planning Board, 7 p.m., City Hall auditorium
Thursday
Conservation Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall Council Chambers
Board of Health, 7 p.m., City Hall basement
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Katie Farrell covers Newburyport for The Daily News. She can be reached at 978-462-6666, ext. 3232, or by e-mail at kfarrell@newburyportnews.com.
