 |
 |
|
|
June 16, 2003
Time and Location
MVRMA Office, 4625 Presidential Way, Kettering, Ohio. The meeting began at 9:05 am.
The following individuals were present when the meeting was called to order: Sherry Callahan, Beavercreek; Nancy Gregory, Kettering; Bruce Snell, Mason; Tom Judy, Sidney; Derrick Parham, Springdale; Dick Drennen, Tipp City; Sue Knight, Troy; Julie Trick, Vandalia; Tom Reilly, West Carrollton; Dina Minneci,Wyoming; Lauren Kitchen and John Milazzo, Marsh; Rick Steddom, Driver Alliant Insurance Services and Kathy St. Pierre, Craig Blair, Starr Markworth, and Michael Hammond, MVRMA.
Wayne Davis, Montgomery, arrived at 9:07 am, and Dave Couch, Indian Hill arrived at 9:15 am.
Consent Agenda Approval
Motion by Mr. Parham, seconded by Ms. Knight to approve the Consent Agenda with the following amendment to the June 16, 2003 Board Meeting Agenda:
Add new business item “Approve Settlement Amount for Jackson vs. Kettering” prior to #4. Finance Committee Report. Motion carried.
Settlement Authority for Jackson vs. Kettering
Bob Surdyk, MVRMA’s attorney for the Jackson vs. Kettering lawsuit provided the following summary of the claim.
Ms. Jackson alleges the City of Kettering and two Kettering police officers violated her civil rights as a result of the use of excessive force during the course of her arrest on June 26, 1999. Having received a 911 call, two Kettering police officers were dispatched to the address where the call originated. The officers heard arguing inside, and when Ms. Jackson answered the door, the police officers entered the apartment. Hearing someone upstairs, one of the officers ascended the steps. Ms. Jackson became quite angry and followed the officer up the stairs, demanding that both officers leave. This confrontation led to Ms. Jackson’s arrest for disorderly conduct. When the police officer attempted to handcuff Ms. Jackson on the steps, they both lost their balance and fell down the stairs. Ms. Jackson continued to “violently” resist and was wrestled to the floor. The officer placed his knee on her back and grabbed her hair in an attempt to control her. She was ultimately charged with disorderly conduct, assault and resisting arrest. Upon arriving at the jail, Ms. Jackson complained of neck pain. Approximately one hour later she was escorted to the emergency room at Miami Valley Hospital where she was diagnosed with a “C3 fracture with C2-3, C3-4 subluxations.” Ms. Jackson’s subsequent medical treatment cost in excess of $35,000. At her original trial, Ms. Jackson pleaded guilty to resisting arrest. As a result of her plea, Judge Rose granted Mr. Surdyk’s motion for summary judgment. Ms. Jackson’s attorney then appealed this matter to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is now requiring mediation in an attempt to resolve the matter. Mr. Surdyk came before the Board to request settlement authority for the upcoming mediation. By settling, Mr. Surdyk would preserve the summary judgment decision and prevent the possibility of a much larger settlement being awarded by a jury. Motion by Mr. Judy, seconded by Ms. Knight, to grant settlement authority in the Jackson vs. Kettering suit not to exceed $45,000. Motion carried.
Finance Committee Report
Mr. Hammond provided an update on Specialty National/Kemper whose financial situation has continued to deteriorate. Last week Kemper, which was on MVRMA’s excess liability program ($10M excess $1M) during 2000-2002, was downgraded to D. This 100 year old company is now in runoff, but has not yet been seized by the Department of Insurance in Illinois, where it is domiciled. MVRMA has only 2 claims of any size for this three year period, and they are currently reserved at $100,000 each. Since the statute of limitations has expired for 2000 and will expire for 2001 at the end of this year, MVRMA’s biggest concern would be 2002. Mr. Hammond informed the Board he has discussed this matter with Mr. Godbold, MVRMA’s actuary, who believes it is not a major issue. Mr. Godbold stated the probability for a loss that would exceed MVRMA’s $1 million in coverage, would be one in fifteen or twenty. There is still the possibility, however, that replacement coverage would be available for 2002 through Endurance, but a proposal would probably not be forthcoming until mid-July. Mr. Hammond will continue to monitor this situation and inform the Board of any new developments.
Mr. Judy explained MVRMA’s line of credit currently renews in August each year. In order to align the renewal with our September Board Meeting, Fifth Third Bank has recommended renewing this year’s line of credit through September 30, 2004. Annually, thereafter, the LOC renewal can be approved at the September Board Meeting. Motion by Mr. Parham, seconded by Ms. Knight, to approve renewal of MVRMA’s LOC through September 30, 2004. Motion carried.
Mr. Judy informed the Board the Finance Committee will recommend increasing the coverage limit for Auto Physical Damage to $750,000 effective 1/1/04 at the September Board Meeting,. This decision was prompted by the concern of several of our members concerning the coverage of fire equipment valued in excess of the current $400,000 limit. Mr. Hammond noted he has discussed this matter with MVRMA’s actuary, and the actuary believes it will have little effect on the loss fund.
Risk Management Committee Report
Ms. Markworth presented this year’s SPEC awards. The ascension award, for most improved compliance, went to the City of Vandalia. The pinnacle award for the best overall compliance went to the cities of Vandalia and Troy, both of which had 100% compliance.
Ms. Markworth noted she will be reviewing the SPEC program in its entirety and may be recommending some changes during the next year. Any changes, however, will not take effect until the SPEC evaluations conducted in 2005.
At the request of several members, Ms. Markworth provided pie charts by department for the association for the period 1998-2002. Each member city can review its losses in comparison to other members of the pool.
The Supervisory Training discussed at the March Board Meeting, has now become a reality. Ms. Markworth noted 58 of the 60 slots have been filled, and MVRMA has awarded all ten of its scholarships, which will pay half the tuition for each participant. Ms. Markworth also passed out a training schedule for the remainder of the year and suggested the trustees call her if they need additional information.
Ms. Markworth provided a brief overview of the Behavioral Risk Improvement program conducted by Marsh. She explained the process involves behavioral modification using positive reinforcement. Since it’s more or less a complete culture change, it would be best implemented by the individual city rather than trying to incorporate it into MVRMA’s training schedule. She suggested anyone needing more information should contact her, and she would arrange a meeting with Marsh.
Membership & Marketing Committee Report
Mr. Hammond discussed the changes being recommended for the Membership Selection Policy. They included a grammatical change to clarify the first sentence in the “Oversight” section, deleting all references to a new member fee and deleting the word “municipality” in the “Notification” section. Motion by Mr. Parham, seconded by Ms. Knight, to approve the amended Membership Selection Policy. Motion carried.
Mr. Hammond also reviewed the Membership & Marketing Survey. He explained for discussion purposes the committee combined the total score for column #1 and #2 and considered all cities with a score of 7 or more. The cities in that category included Bellbrook, Centerville, Englewood, Fairfield, Forest Park, Oakwood, Oxford and Springboro. At this time, the committee recommended no additions to the “Approved List,” but they did recommend extending the expiration date for those cities already on the “Approved List.” Motion by Mr. Parham, seconded by Ms. Knight, to approve extending the expiration date for cities on the “Approved List” to June 30, 2005. Motion carried.
Awards Committee Report
Ms. Knight noted the overall winner for the 2002 Safety Awards is the City of Wyoming. All other winning and zero loss departments are listed in the agenda packet. As part of this year’s committee meeting, changes in the safety awards program were discussed but none were recommended. Ms. Knight reminded everyone Ms. St. Pierre would be forwarding a memo to all winners concerning their awards’ celebration, plaques, etc.
Motion by Ms. Minneci, seconded by Mr. Davis, to approve the safety award recommendations as presented. Motion carried.
Marsh USA Inc. Report
Mr. Milazzo noted the insurance market is finally starting to soften a bit. Ms. Kitchen provided a handout titled “Insurance Market Report” and informed the Board similar information could be obtained on-line at Marsh.com. She reported there has been more competition for renewals, which is good for pricing. Currently, she is seeing flat rates and even some reductions. As long as there are no major catastrophic events between now and renewal, our current rate of 6 cents per hundred may hold or actually be reduced. Ms. Kitchen suggested we try to collect our information as soon as possible in the hopes of getting Chubb to quote a flat or better rate before deciding whether to go to market.
Executive Director’s Report
Mr. Hammond explained we have not received the final audit report from Deloitte & Touche, so approval of the report would not be necessary at this meeting.
Mr. Hammond reported on the GEM annual meeting which he attended in Washington, DC June 5-6 which included the following:
MVRMA was granted the 20% founding membership incentive as anticipated.
Several policies were approved.
A financial auditor was selected .
Officers were elected.
A “Beginnings Report” was distributed, which traced the history back to 1994 when NPX was formed.
Mr. Hammond discussed the Annual Report which was included in the June issue of Risky Business. It includes highlights from 2002 as well as the 2002 Balance Sheet provided by Deloitte & Touche. The second page provides a claims summary for the years 1996-2002 as well as loss control statistics.
Mr. Parham asked if Mr. Hammond had any new information regarding the property program to be offered by GEM. Mr. Hammond noted a spreadsheet was provided at the annual meeting which included a summary of costs from four different markets. Although each individual member would be rated individually, an average cost was 5-6 cents per 100 for those insurers above GEM. The cost for the GEM layer would be an additional expense. Right now, it appears the cost for participating in the GEM property program would be higher than the premium offered by Chubb. Mr. Hammond stated he would continue to monitor the GEM program and provide updates as they become available.
Executive Session
At 10:55 am, there was a motion by Mr. Davis, seconded by Mr. Parham, to recess into Executive Session to discuss the evaluation and compensation for the MVRMA Executive Director. Motion carried. Everyone other than Board members was excused from the meeting.
At 11:05 am, there was a motion by Ms. Trick, seconded by Mr. Parham, to adjourn from Executive Session and return to Regular Session. Motion carried.
Personnel & Compensation Committee Report
Motion by Mr. Davis, seconded by Mr. Parham, to authorize a 4% increase for the Executive Director effective 7/1/03. Motion carried.
Mr. Hammond explained the changes being recommended for the Personnel & Compensation Policy to become effective 1/1/04. They include increasing the annual dental/vision care reimbursement from $600 to $900 per employee and providing a funeral leave policy. Ms. Trick mentioned these changes would also be added to the Executive Director’s contract. Motion by Ms. Knight, seconded by Ms. Trick to approve the amended Personnel & Compensation Policy, as presented and approve amending the Executive Director’s contract accordingly. Motion carried.
Mr. Hammond reviewed the 2003 Membership Survey, which serves as MVRMA’s report card. He noted in almost every area there has been improvement since the last survey was conducted in 2001.
Ms. St. Pierre distributed the upcoming AGRIP conference schedule and asked for notification of anyone’s interest in attending.
Mr. Hammond noted he would include officer job descriptions in the September agenda packet since new MVRMA officers will be elected at the December Board Meeting. Ms. Gregory encouraged anyone interested in serving to contact Mr. Parham.
Adjournment
Having concluded its business for the day, the Board adjourned at 11:15 am.