Preston — Despite objecting to the threat by the Board of Finance to take the matter to court, the Board of Selectmen voted Thursday to refer a request that seven school employees join the town employee retirement system to the finance board before scheduling a town meeting.

The Board of Finance voted last week to seek a court injunction to stop the selectmen from scheduling a town meeting, as requested by the Board of Education on June 29. On Thursday, finance board Chairman Norman Gauthier presented selectmen with a draft 10-page lawsuit, drawn up by the board's attorney, that he said would have been filed Friday if selectmen had scheduled the town meeting.

Selectmen had planned to schedule the town meeting Thursday, but Selectman Michael Sinko said he would agree to send the matter to the Board of Finance to avoid wasting further town money by going to court. Sinko and Selectman Lynwood Crary voted to send the matter to the finance board, with First Selectman Robert Congdon abstaining because his wife is one of the school employees seeking to join the Municipal Employees Retirement System.

Congdon did comment on the draft litigation: “Personally — these two guys (the other selectmen) are going to vote on it — but I don't like getting threatened.”

Gauthier said the Board of Finance will hold a special meeting Sept. 6 to discuss the MERS request and will report its recommendation on the retirement plan request at the selectmen's Sept. 14 meeting.

All three selectmen criticized the Board of Finance for “wasting town money” in having the lawsuit, with numerous addendum exhibits, drafted by a lawyer. If the Board of Finance recommends against the request, selectmen still would be obligated to schedule a town meeting for residents to consider it, selectmen said.

“We think it's disgusting we're spending town money to do this,” Crary said. “... This is lowering the bar to a new level, Norm."

Selectmen asked to see the bill for the draft lawsuit, estimating it cost several thousand dollars. Gauthier said he doesn't yet have the bill, but said it was “very expensive.”

Gauthier didn't disagree with the selectmen's criticism, but said the matter could have been avoided if the Board of Selectmen “did its duty” and referred the matter to the Board of Finance before scheduling the town meeting. The finance board's position is that the issue amounts to a town appropriation, because the town is being asked to pay its share for the employees' back years of service into the fund. The employees also would pay their back share into the system.

Gauthier said the back payment by the town would total $780,897.

Selectmen, however, disagreed with that position and said the request from the Board of Education was simply to schedule a town meeting to consider allowing the seven employees — three central office executive assistants, two school nurses, the bus transportation coordinator and the supervisor of buildings and grounds — to join the retirement system, not the appropriation. Selectmen said both the town attorney and the school board attorney issued opinions saying the Board of Finance did not need to be consulted before scheduling the town meeting.

School and town Finance Director John Spang said in the first two years and part of the third year, the $60,000 contribution would be paid by the employees, not the Board of Education, so there would be no appropriation for the Board of Finance to consider until the third year.

Gauthier said if the Board of Finance votes to recommend against the request, the proposal could be reworked, possibly to allow the employees to join the retirement system going forward without past years of service included. The employees currently have a different retirement plan.

c.bessette@theday.com