ATTLEBORO - City unions took issue with a city hall claim that their refusal to accept health insurance concessions is to blame for upcoming layoffs

Police union officials said they did not reject the proposal out of hand, but made a counter proposal that didn't get a response. Their attempt to work out a deal was ignored, they said.

"They didn't respond to us; they didn't get back to us," union attorney Leigh Panettiere said Tuesday. "Why didn't the city come back to us and try to reach a compromise?"

The city asked unions to accept higher co-pays to save money on health insurance premiums in the face of a budget crushing $2 million deficit next year.

Administration officials said Monday the city could have saved $1 million in premiums if all seven unions had agreed to the deal. Only the clerk's union agreed to the plan, which had to be accepted by all.

As a result, 15 workers will be laid off, city personnel consultant Jan Silverman told the city council.

The police counter proposal included a request for a pay raise with part of the money saved, Panettiere said.

"We essentially agreed to (the city proposal) with some slight modifications, and we asked for a pay raise with a small portion of the savings," she said.

Police Association President Detective Russell Castro said it's unfair to blame the unions.

While health insurance is expensive, there are a number of problems causing the spreading red ink, he said.

"It's not the only reason for the city's deficit," Castro said. "There are many causes."

Fire department union President Capt. Tom Joubert said it seems like workers have been giving more than they've been getting in recent years, despite what he said is a "good rapport" with the administration.

Joubert said a previous agreement on a health insurance concession was intended to fund a pay increase, but it never came to fruition, prompting the union to balk at the new plan.

The union has to draw the line somewhere, he said. "We can't keep doing this year after year," Joubert said. "You can't blame the unions for the layoffs."

Laborer's union steward Jim Proulx agreed with Castro that there are a number of reasons for the deficit.

One is salary increases created by a new pay plan passed last year that gave some big raises to a number of administrators and is adding stress to an already stressed budget, he said.

"The reclassification was a huge chunk of money that benefited administrators more than it benefited workers," Proulx said.

While insurance premiums under the city plan would be lower, they would still go up and there was no guarantee not to layoff, Proulx said.