Unusual by today's standards, those, who retired prior to July 1, 1994, contribute 1% towards their insurance. Anyone, retired from July 1, 1994 to the present, contributes 7.5%, while survivors contribute 10%. Active employees contribute either 10% or 8.5%, depending on the coverage they opt for.

Members, who are retired from the state or other municipalities, may find these rates a lot more generous than what they are receiving.

"Over the years, our Waltham members gave up a lot as active employees in order to get this benefit," explains Association President Ralph White. "You can't look at the numbers alone without first understanding the situation that has existed over the years. Also, Waltham officials have traditionally been more supportive of their retirees than the average community."

The bill, which was backed by Waltham Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy and the city council, was vetoed by Governor Mitt Romney in early July. City officials, along with retirees, were stunned by the Governor's intrusion into a matter of local option - something normally unheard of on Beacon Hill.

In his veto message, Romney was clear that his feeling is that the city should not guarantee its retirees a fixed contribution rate. Despite the strong local support for the bill, the Governor claimed that it would hamper the city's ability to manage its finances in future years.

As is the case in many communities across the Commonwealth, Waltham has an organized and highly active group of local retirees that was the driving force behind the bill. Headed by Chuck Williams, a retired police officer, the Waltham Retired Public Employees Association heavily lobbied everyone from their local legislators, all the way up the ladder to the legislative leadership.

Williams was joined by retired police officers Bill Lavash and Pat Fitzgerald, along with many other Waltham retirees, in an intense effort to pass S 2001 into law. Not only did these retirees, who are all Association members, travel to the State House to personally lobby for their bill, but more importantly they kept the pressure on their local officials and legislators to get the bill passed.

When the bill passed in late June, Williams and his fellow retirees thought their long battle was over. However, when Romney vetoed the bill on July 9, the retirees immediately swung into action and successfully overroad the veto the following week, on July 14.

"My hat comes off to our Waltham members. They worked hard, stayed on top of their bill, and never gave up. Even when the governor surprised us all and vetoed the bill, they remained positive and fought back," said Association Legislative Liaison Shawn Duhamel. "While this was a great team effort by everyone involved, I want to recognize the work put in by Chuck Williams' wife Helen. She is a very humble woman, who refuses to accept any credit, but I would be remiss if I did not point out how helpful she was to this cause."