The Town of Dartmouth will be exploring all options for funding a larger portion of its employees’ health insurance costs after the Select Board voted Monday to take back last week’s decision setting up a tax override committee.

At a meeting on March 2, the board had voted 3-2 to create a task force that would craft a question on a tax override to put on the ballot at the next election.

The override would allow the town to increase taxes above the state-mandated 2.5 percent maximum per year to pay for a more competitive split in health care costs for town employees. 

Dartmouth currently pays 52 percent of its employees’ health insurance costs, but it is looking into the feasibility of increasing its contribution to 60 percent to help with insurance rates that are among the highest in the region.

On March 9, the Select Board voted 3-2 to rescind their previous decision to create the committee.

Although an override is still an option, the board decided, the town should first scrutinize the budget to look for another way to fund the increase.

The task force would have included representatives from each of the town employees’ 11 unions along with members of the Select Board, School Committee, and Finance Committee, among other town agencies.

“It’s an awfully large group of people to decide on what may be one sentence,” said Select Board chair Stanley Mickelson. 

“You can’t change [an override],” he added. “Once you do this, according to our attorney...You can’t get out of it. You have to go forward.”

Board member John Haran noted that he had “no problem” with a committee going forward.

“I don’t even see the purpose of the committee,” announced board member Frank Gracie.

Board member David Tatelbaum said that instead of an override, the board could first consider another way to fund the insurance split.

A majority of the board members approved of this approach. “That would be the most creative,” said Mickelson.

Gracie agreed. “As I said last week, I’m in favor of the 60-40, I’m not in favor of the override,” he said.

Town Administrator Shawn MacInnes said that although he would look into the budget with Director of Budget and Finance Greg Barnes, “it would not be a very easy task” to find extra funding, calling the problem “nearly insurmountable.”

A 60-40 insurance split would cost an estimated $2.2 million for just current town employees, and $3.1 million for current employees and retirees together.

But MacInnes said he would present options to the board by late spring or early summer.

Town Clerk Lynn Medeiros noted that any ballot question for the November election would have to go to the state by August.

The board ultimately voted to rescind the override task force decision 3-2, with board members Haran and Shawn McDonald voting against.

Based on the current median home price of $331,300, the employees-only override would add $121.32 per year to a resident’s bill, while the higher-cost override including retirees would add $169.57.

Dartmouth’s current tax rate of $9.93 per $1,000 in assessed value is the 35th lowest rate out of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.