Councilors hoping to help family of ill custodian.

Byline: Mary Jo Hill

LEOMINSTER - A City Council subcommittee wants to petition the state Legislature to allow a former school custodian, who has Alzheimer's disease, to receive ordinary disability retirement benefits.

Thomas Kamataris Sr.'s work record with the city school district fell just five months short of the 10 years needed to qualify under a revised statute.

In a meeting that had city councilors praising Mr. Kamataris and his family and left one councilor in tears, the Ways and Means Committee recommended the home rule petition.

The full council will take up the petition on Tuesday, and then it must go before the Legislature.

Committee Chairman Robert A. Salvatelli said Mr. Kamataris, who is 55, worked for nine years and seven months for the school district and then became ill and couldn't continue.

His family went to federal, state and city representatives trying to get help, Mr. Salvatelli said.

Initially, they hoped to be able to use his time in the Army National Guard to help him qualify for the necessary 10 years with the city, but that didn't work out, Mr. Salvatelli said.

The city's Contributory Retirement Board said he wouldn't be eligible for ordinary disability retirement benefits unless he had worked for 15 years, Mr. Salvatelli said. He could qualify for a pension with 10 years, he said.

Councilor Wayne A. Nickel said the city could adopt a statute to lower the 15-year hurdle to 10 years, but Mr. Kamataris still would fall short.

If the petition is approved, Mr. Salvatelli said that along with the ordinary disability retirement benefits, Mr. Kamataris would also receive medical benefits for the rest of his life and his wife would receive them as well. The benefits would be 72 percent tax free, but he wouldn't be receiving a lot of money because he didn't make much money as a school custodian, Mr. Salvatelli said.

As Mr. Salvatelli explained the different issues involved, he said the Kamataris family is well known and respected in Leominster. However, the petition could open up a floodgate of similar requests and raise the question of whether the move would hurt taxpayers, he said.

But, he said, "I've got to tell you, it would be very, very hard for me to say no to it."

Mr. Kamataris' son, who shares his name, spoke to the council and said his father isn't eligible for Social Security benefits because as a Leominster school employee he didn't pay into that system for five of the last 10 years. The family has been denied twice in requests for those benefits, he said.

Mr. Nickel spoke warmly about Mr. Kamataris' dedication to coaching American Little League in Ward 2, which he represents. One season the team was a game away from playing for the state championships at Fenway, he said.

Now it seems everything that could go wrong is going wrong in the effort to try to get benefits for Mr. Kamataris, Mr. Nickel said.

"It's been one thing after another," he said.

He said he was just stunned to think a man with the disease could go before the disability board, after having worked since age 16, and be turned down twice.

Councilor James J. Lanciani Jr. said his family has a lot of history with the Kamataris family.

Mr. Lanciani, who has worked as a veterans' agent, said he reviewed Mr. Kamataris' discharge, and in his opinion he had been called to active duty and could have bought back a year.

Later, Mr. Lanciani began to cry as he said, "I know your family will be there and I'm telling you this evening that if you need me to be there I will come down and testify it was me that said he should have his year of time."

Councilor Virginia A. Tocci said she had gone to school with Mr. Kamataris and the situation was very sad.

"He was so giving for many years," she said.

"He's Mr. Leominster," she added.

NAME: LEOMINSTER CITY COUNCIL