Contribution Comes to $4,094 a Year : Town Balks at Pension for Its One Employee

This town of 394 people doesn’t have its own post office, general store or telephone exchange. And after getting a $4,094 bill for their one full-time employee, townsfolk don’t think they need a municipal retirement plan either.

However, despite a unanimous town meeting vote last month to quit the county pension plan, it may not be so easy.

“Once you join, you’ve got to stay in or it would destroy the system,” said Berkshire County Treasurer Peter Arlos, who has vowed to fight the town’s efforts to drop out. “It’s just like getting married. It’s for better or worse.”

The town’s lone employee, Highway Supt. Robert Johnson, says he is in favor of the town’s withdrawing from the retirement plan. In fact, it was his idea.

“It doesn’t make any sense for us to put all that money in and get nothing to show for it,” said Johnson, who is also one of Alford’s three selectmen. “To tell you the truth, I’ve never figured out what I might get from the pension system, but I understand I’d have to stay in for a good number of years before it would amount to anything.”

Johnson, who has served as highway superintendent for three years, earns $15,000 a year.

“This year the county boosted the pension bill by about $1,000,” said William Roots, chairman of the board of selectmen. “And if they keep up with that kind of increase, it’s not going to be too many years before we would be paying more for Bob’s retirement than he is getting in salary.”

County Treasurer Arlos acknowledged that Alford is paying in more than it will ever get out; he said the money is used to cover countywide liabilities.

The town’s budget is about $250,000 a year, and about $120,000 of that is dedicated to schools.

“We are the police board, the fire board, the health board, the water board and whatever you can think of now,” said selectman Chairman Roots. “In a small town like this, you wear a lot of hats and watch your pennies.”