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A Review of the Last Five Years
- Michael Hammond
On July 5, 2000, the day I began as MVRMA’s
Executive Director, I was immediately confronted with a new language for
which the last 29 years of public sector management had not prepared me.
For example, I thought "SIR" was a title reserved for gentlemen held in
high regard, "AGRIP" was what you instruct someone to get who is being
overly dramatic and a "pool" was used for swimming. Yes, I was quickly
being introduced to the world of insurance and governmental risk pooling
and a whole new set of terms and practices. That date now seems like a
lifetime ago.
Fortunately for me, I had a very dedicated MVRMA
staff and a supportive Board of Trustees who were determined to bring me
up to speed. MVRMA's service providers were also more than willing to
share their expertise and experience. Additionally, I discovered a network
of individuals dedicated to education and training of governmental risk
pooling professionals. With this team at my disposal, I confidently
entered into my new world of "risk pooling."
The last five years have gone by quickly, but I
believe it's important to occasionally review our accomplishments in order
to provide direction for the future. Let me share just a few of MVRMA's
important achievements, and hopefully, you will be able to see the role
you played in bringing them about.
Membership
We selectively increased our membership by 25%,
growing from from 16 to 20 members. However, we never wavered from the
purpose of the Membership Selection Policy which is "to maintain the best
possible standards for risk management and risk pooling for all MVRMA
members." Following the criteria established in that policy, we were able
to attract four qualified cities, Piqua in 2002, and Englewood, Bellbrook
and Centerville in 2004.
Possibly the most important membership
accomplishment of all is never having lost a member in our 17 year
history!
Refund of Surplus Loss Reserves
MVRMA members own MVRMA. Therefore, they retain a
financial interest in the funding of each loss year. When all known claims
and lawsuits for an individual year have been settled and paid, that loss
year can be closed and the remaining funds distributed to the members that
participated in that year. To date, we have closed 12 of the 17 loss years
and refunded to the members $4,104,872 or 47.87% of the amount
contributed. We are fortunate that most of the refunds occurred in the
last five years, at a time when our members were experiencing tightening
budgets.
Enhanced Insurance Coverage
Rather than relying on an insurance company's
policy, that is subject to change and interpretation, in 2003 we developed
our own manuscripted liability policy. This policy allowed us to provide
enhanced coverage in areas that were most important to our members.
Additionally, in 2005 we switched our property
program to PEPIP, the world’s largest public entity property insurer.
PEPIP was able to provide increased coverage limits and reduced rates.
Price and Coverage Stability
Responding to hard insurance market conditions,
MVRMA took several steps in 2003 to distance itself from the commercial
insurance market and the associated market cycles.
First, with the assistance of our actuary, we
increased our self-insured retention for liability claims to $1 million.
MVRMA had been preparing for this step for some time by setting aside
funds in a shock loss fund to supplement loss funding, if necessary.
Next, MVRMA joined with a group of 14 public entity
insurance pools from 11 different states to establish a captive insurance
company known as Government Entities Mutual, Inc. (GEM). GEM provides
MVRMA with follow form liability coverage of $1 million excess the
self-insured retention. In addition to providing long term cost effective
coverage, GEM further distances MVRMA from the commercial insurance
market. With surplus contributions totaling $750,000, MVRMA will also
benefit from the accrual of net income in its surplus contribution account
with GEM.
Increased Investment Earnings
Investment earnings from member contributions are an
important revenue source. With the downturn in the investment market, more
expertise was required to ensure this revenue stream. Beginning in 2003,
MVRMA contracted with Bond Tech as its investment advisor. This firm
currently invests approximately $5 million of MVRMA's $9 million in
available funds. Since MVRMA's number one investment priority is safety of
principal, its portfolio is designed to achieve a satisfactory rate of
return consistent with prudent investment practices.
Strong and Supporting Relationships
MVRMA Board members are actively involved in the
pool's governance. They participate in a committee structure that provides
the Board with operational and policy recommendations. This system has
served MVRMA well. In 2004, the Ohio City Management Association awarded
MVRMA the Intergovernmental Cooperation Award.
Our actuarial, auditing, brokerage, investment,
legal and technological service providers all contribute to our success.
They provide us with the knowledge, insight and expertise to make
important decisions which affect the long-term well-being of the pool.
Finally, the professionalism of the MVRMA staff
ensures our continued success. Everyone understands and embraces the
concept that service and protecting our members’ assets is our business.
Future
What does the future hold for MVRMA? Based upon the
successes to date, I have no doubt we will be able to meet the challenges
of tomorrow. I am confident we will be able to continue providing our
members with stable insurance protection at predictable and competitive
cost levels.
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- Surdyk, Dowd & Turner
Liability for Failing to Enforce Restraining Order
The United States Supreme Court recently ruled in
the case of Town vs. Castle Rock, CO vs. Gonzales, 125 S.Ct. 2796
(June 27, 2005), that a mother whose daughter was killed by her estranged
husband after police failed to enforce a temporary restraining order
against him, cannot sue the city. The mother claimed the police's failure
to enforce the restraining order violated her rights of due process. She
argued she had a property interest in enforcement of the order. Justice
Scalia, who wrote the opinion for the majority, disagreed.
The court based its decision primarily upon the
analysis of Colorado law which did not, in its opinion, make enforcement
of restraining orders mandatory. Justice Scalia concluded, "A
well-established tradition of police discretion has long coexisted with
apparently mandatory arrest statutes....'[I]t has been recognized that
such statutes cannot be interpreted literally.'" The court did not rule
out the possibility that statutes of other states may contain stronger
indications of legislative intent to limit the discretionary powers of
police officers to enforce restraining orders.
The court did note, however, that even if a state
statute creates a right of entitlement to the enforcement of an order, "it
is by no means clear that an individual entitlement to enforcement of a
restraining order could constitute a 'property' interest for purposes of
the due process clause." Such an alleged property interest arises
"incidentally" out of a traditional function of the police to arrest
individuals when there is probable cause to believe a criminal offense has
been committed.
Ohio law imposes a mandatory duty upon any officer
of a law enforcement agency to enforce a protection order issued or a
consent agreement approved by any court in accordance with the provisions
of the order or agreement - R.C. Section 3113.31(F)(3). As the Supreme
Court noted, however, this language does not necessarily mean an officer
may not exercise some discretion "in deciding when and where" to enforce
such an order. The exercise of such discretion will be subject to review
and challenge. Therefore, the best course of action is for an officer to
be given specific guidelines regarding his duties of enforcement of
protection orders.
This decision should not be interpreted by
jurisdictions that they need not be concerned about enforcing civil
protection orders. This case is directed solely to claims pursued under 42
U.S.C. Section 1983 alleging a violation of one's rights of due process
guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment. The failure to do so may result
in claims under other provisions of the constitution, as well as other
provisions of state and federal law.
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- Craig Blair
When citizens slip, trip or fall on city property,
they generally ask, "Will the city pay for my medical bills?" Employees
need to understand the correct way to handle such questions, but their
first concern should be the injured party.
The employee should always ask if an ambulance is
needed. He should also determine if there is a family member or someone
else that should be contacted. Once the injured party is stable, the
employee should ask how the fall occurred. He should record the
description of the event in the injured party's own words. The employee
should make no comments or elaborate on anything reported.
Next, the scene should be checked. If there is a
concern for public safety, the problem should be reported to a supervisor,
and some type of barrier should be erected to prevent any further
problems. Photographs should be taken (call MVRMA if needed) as soon after
the event as possible, especially if the fall were weather or construction
related, since the circumstances could change very quickly.
Regarding the correct answer to the question "Will
the city pay for my medical bills?", the best response would be to refer
the injured party to the person or department designated to handle all
insurance related matters.
Employees should be instructed not to discuss
coverage issues at all. Statements made by employees at the scene of an
accident, however sympathetic or harmless the intent, could place the city
in a difficult position after the accident has been investigated.
Ohio law contains protections and immunities for
municipalities regarding most slip and fall claims. Once notified of an
incident, MVRMA can follow up with the injured party. It is MVRMA's duty
to protect the pool's assets by paying only claims for which the members
are negligent. Since medical payment coverage pays for medical bills based
solely on the injury occurring on the insured's property, MVRMA does not
carry this type of coverage.
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-Starr Markworth
Training, education and degree completion programs
are among the most desired employee benefits, especially with younger job
seekers. Unfortunately, the first thing cut from budgets during an
economic downturn is usually training and development.
The costs associated with training and education can
not be ignored but can often be justified because they lead to better
employee-management relationships and improve the overall organization as
follows:
1. Well-trained employees are more capable and
willing to assume more control over their jobs, and they need less
supervision, which frees management for other tasks.
2. Employees are better equipped to answer customer
inquiries, which leads to better customer service.
3. Employees who understand their jobs complain
less, are more satisfied and are more motivated.
Last year the American Management Association's (AMA) survey of 352 HR
executives confirmed that certain enhancement issues were of top
importance to employees and improved employee retention. According to Eric
Rolfe Greenberg, AMA's Director of Management Studies, "Programs that
improve work skills and future career development are seen as particularly
effective." The AMA survey identified the following skill enhancement
techniques and the percentage of companies employing them as a retention
strategy:
- External conferences/seminars/78.1%
- Tuition reimbursement/67.3%
- Managerial training/66.8%
- Company support for degree/62.2%
- Interpersonal skills training/56.8%
- Technical training/54.5%
- Employability training/35.2%
Your organization can have the greatest business
model and the best systems in the world, but if your employees aren't
receiving the proper training or are dissatisfied by the lack of education
and training, your operation will not be very effective. Now is the time
to consider making education and training a part of your city's culture.
We encourage your participation in the wide range of training
opportunities offered by MVRMA and welcome your suggestions for future
training topics.
MVRMA also has an extensive video/CD ROM library
available to all members free of charge. Using this resource is a great
way to complement your training program when budgets are tight. A complete
listing of the video library is available on MVRMA's website at
www.mvrma.com under Training and Loss Control.
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This is Driver Alliant's first Risky Business
article, and we wanted to start by taking the opportunity to express our
appreciation to the MVRMA staff and members for our selection as MVRMA's
insurance broker. All of us at Driver Alliant are very pleased to be
contributing to this newsletter as part of our service contract with
MVRMA.
In this issue, we would like to highlight some of
the features of MVRMA's property program under PEPIP that relate to
scheduled and non-scheduled coverage. While we request property schedules
from MVRMA on an annual basis, one of the features we particularly like
about the PEPIP policy form is that coverage, for the most part, is not
subject to scheduled values. Although the policy form has exclusions and
limitations along with other terms and conditions that tend to limit or
eliminate coverage, it is the intent of the policy form to cover all of
the insured's property along with the property of others for which the
insured is legally liable or obligated to insure, regardless of the
property schedule.
The policy form has four provisions that work to
provide a fair degree of coverage for items that do not appear on the
property schedule. The first provision, Errors and Omissions with a $40M
sub-limit, works to provide coverage for property that is inadvertently
left off or inadvertently under-reported on the property schedule. A
second provision, Miscellaneous Unnamed locations with a $10M sub-limit,
works to provide coverage for smaller property items that might be too
small or numerous to realistically report on the property schedule.
Another policy provision, Automatic Acquisition with a $25M sub-limit,
allows automatic inclusion of property that is bought or acquired during
the policy period. The last policy provision, Course of Construction with
a $25M sub-limit, allows automatic coverage for new construction and
building renovations commencing during the policy period. Again, each of
these provisions has specific sub-limits, but they act together to provide
a fair degree of automatic protection where specific values do not
necessarily appear or appear correctly on the property schedule. The
inclusion of these provisions in the policy form benefits MVRMA by
allowing a wide margin of error in reporting property values and allowing
automatic coverage for new property acquisitions along with construction
and renovation projects, all while reducing the necessity for numerous and
unnecessary reporting of property values.
While we always want to encourage accurate reporting
of property schedules, the PEPIP Program acknowledges that accuracy is not
always possible and that insignificant property schedule updates on less
than an annual basis are not productive or necessary.
Again, from all of us at Driver Alliant, we are
pleased to be contributing to our first issue of
Risky Business.
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As part of the Safety Awards Program, each member city is asked to
submit a nomination for the Special Achievement Award. This award
recognizes a special program or activity related to risk management,
safety or loss prevention. The 2004 recipients are the Village of Indian
Hill's HPO Safety and Security Committee and the Aquatics Safety and
Emergency Preparedness Program established by the Vandalia Parks &
Recreation Department. Honorable Mentions were awarded to the City of
Springdale for its "On Spot" Remote Controlled Tire Chain System and the
City of Montgomery's Employee Advisory and Safety Team for its solution in
preventing the city's police vehicles from being struck while on routine
traffic stops. An excerpt from each nomination is included. For more
detailed information, we encourage you to contact each city/department
directly.
Village of Indian Hill's HPO Safety & Security Committee
As part of our city-wide transformation to a high performance
organization, this committee made up entirely of volunteer employees from
various Village departments has dedicated its time to the pursuit of
safety in the workplace as well as the community. Acting under their own
direction but with the support of our administrative staff, members of
this group have provided valuable input in the areas of public awareness,
safety training recommendations, inspections of Village owned properties
and work zone safety. To elaborate further, accomplishments in 2004 for
this committee include:
l Conducted on sight inspections of all Village owned maintenance
buildings, parks, administration offices and police facilities. After
reviewing each location, recommendations were forwarded to the respective
department heads for repair or preventive measures to be taken at each
location. Follow-up inspections were then conducted to ensure
recommendations had been followed.
l Inspected a future park location and provided input designed to
guarantee public safety during the transitional period between
construction phases.
l Implemented inspection program for private contractors working in the
Village to ensure proper set up and safety procedures at work sites.
l Published numerous articles in the Village bulletin pertaining to
both resident and worker safety including such topics as: safe clearance
for emergency vehicles, a motorist advisory for work zones, and a winter
reminder for motorists as they approach snow emergency vehicles.
l Researched and forwarded a recommendation to the City Manager for
department-wide CPR training.
l Executed routine surprise inspections of work sites operated by
Village employees to verify proper work zone safety techniques and
personal protective equipment usage.
l Assisted with the organization and implementation of an employee
recommended household hazardous waste collection event designed to enhance
public, worker and environmental safety.
The HPO process has allowed everyone in the
organization to have an equal voice in demonstrating their commitment to
this concept.
Vandalia Parks & Recreation - Aquatics Safety and Emergency
Preparedness
With its state-of-the-art recreation center, an
indoor water park and outdoor pool, the City of Vandalia recognized the
necessity to provide the utmost in staff training and risk management for
these heavily utilized community amenities.
Vandalia believes its recreation and aquatics staff,
through the Vandalia Parks and Recreation Department's forethought,
preparation and planning, is prepared to deal with virtually any situation
that should arise and, further, that our facilities have been designed and
are maintained in optimum fashion.
In-Service Training:
Vandalia's Lifeguard Certification Program---a program administered by
Ellis and Associates, Inc., Kingwood, Texas---requires each VPRD lifeguard
to participate in a mandatory four hours of in-service training every
month. Another in-service training method used by the VPRD is Vigilance
Awareness Testing (V.A.T.). This test allows supervisors to determine
whether guards are visually scanning their zones and whether the guard
chairs' positions allow them to adequately see all points of the pool.
Audits: Ellis and
Associates provides for the services of a water safety professional who
performs four or five unannounced audits at our aquatics facilities each
year. The auditor arrives at the facility during regular operating hours
and secretly videotapes the activities of at least four lifeguards at
their posts. The audit video is then used as a teaching tool for other
guards, allowing the VPRD to demonstrate proficient skills as well as
those needing improvement.
Scenario Training:
Prompted by the success of the Ellis Lifeguard Training, the VPRD recently
conducted its first videotaped Recreation Center emergency scenario. The
purpose of the exercise was to determine the efficiency of the VRC's
Emergency Action Plan and determine how the staff on duty would react to a
significant emergency. At the exercise's conclusion, staff was given an
opportunity to review and evaluate the scenario videotape, discuss the
operation and make changes that would improve future efficiency.
Summary: The City of
Vandalia and its Parks & Recreation Department feel their operations
continually emphasize exemplary training and staff preparedness.
Springdale's "On Spot" Remote Controlled Tire Chain System
Over the past several winters, we have seen larger
than normal snowfalls create difficult and sometimes dangerous driving
conditions for our personnel in emergency response situations. Previously,
we had not felt a need for traction enhancements for our vehicles as the
streets were cleared nearly as soon as the snow fell. In 2004, however, we
investigated several options. The option we chose to pursue was remote
controlled tire chains mounted on the vehicles and controlled by the
driver. The system we are using is known as "On Spot" chains. While they
are not new to the market, they are new to us. Because our ambulances
regularly transport through several municipalities and a variety of road
conditions, traditional tire chains presented several drawbacks: they are
time consuming and cumbersome to install; they limit the vehicle to a
travel speed of about 30 miles per hour to prevent damage to the vehicle
as well as the chains; and they should not be driven any distance on dry
roads. The last restriction would require putting them on for a day until
the roads are cleared, removing them and then reinstalling them when the
next snow fell.
The "On Spot" system addresses all these issues. The
chains are on a rotating wheel permanently mounted on the vehicle. The
wheel is controlled by the driver and can be lowered into position while
the vehicle is in motion. When in use, the wheel is driven by the drive
wheels of the vehicle and, spinning in a circular motion, continuously
"throws" the chains in front of the rear tires, thus creating a traction
surface. As the driver encounters snow covered roads, he can lower the
chains. As he proceeds onto clear roads, he simply raises the chains up
into a "storage position." This system is especially beneficial for our
ambulances which encounter various degrees of snow covered roads in route
to a hospital.
We have found these chains to be a very effective,
very flexible safety enhancement for winter driving. We have instituted a
retrofit program to install them on all of our fire and EMS vehicles as
well as adding them to our purchase specifications for all new vehicles.
Montgomery's Employee Advisory and Safety Team
Solution for Preventing the City's
Police Vehicles from Being Struck While on Routine Traffic Stops
The Employee Advisory and Safety Team (E.A.S.T.) was
established to improve the personal safety of each employee and to improve
communication between all employees on safety and employee development
matters. This committee reviews all accidents and recommends steps to
prevent accidents and improve workplace safety. E.A.S.T. also exchanges
information, discusses matters of mutual interest, reviews personnel and
other policies and explores ways to improve public service delivery and
increase the overall efficiency and safety of the city's operations.
In 2004, Committee members noticed an increase in
police vehicles being struck while on routine traffic stops and decided to
see if this was a common problem among police departments or unique to
Montgomery. Our concerns were for the safety of our officers and the loss
of vehicles. After a few brainstorming sessions, each member was assigned
an area of responsibility to investigate. The search involved contacting
other agencies and professionals around the country. The DOT was contacted
about possible signage changes or additions. We investigated the use of
different types of barrier devices and warning systems used by other
agencies. The Committee reviewed the types of equipment and procedures
currently used by our organization. Any solution had to take into
consideration vehicle space limitations as well as the financial impact on
the city.
When all the data was compiled, a recommendation to
equip all police vehicles with blue and amber L.E.D. or strobe light bars
and four corner strobes was presented to the Police Chief. Once approved,
money was earmarked to replace light bars and add four corner strobes to
the front line vehicles. The remainder of the vehicles had their lenses
replaced with blue and amber and will be budgeted for future upgrades.
Since the installation of the committee's recommendations, no police
vehicle has been struck while making a routine traffic stop.
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Each May MVRMA's Awards Committee meets to determine
the Risk Management/Safety Award winners for the loss year completed the
previous December. The overall award is presented to the city with the
lowest dollar losses per full-time employee. A runner-up is also named.
MVRMA is proud to announce Tipp City as the recipient of the 2004
Overall Award with losses of only $11.54/full-time employee. The City of
Montgomery, last year's winner, was named runner-up with losses of
$22.77/full-time employee.
Department winners are also named each year. They
are often determined by the zero-loss department with the most employees.
However, when there are no zero-loss departments for a specific category,
the winner is determined by the department with the lowest dollar losses
per full-time employee. The department winners for 2004 are as follows:
Police: Piqua (zero losses)
Fire & EMS: Troy (zero losses)
Water/Wastewater: Vandalia (zero losses)
Parks & Rec: Vandalia (zero losses
Streets & Refuse: Beavercreek (zero losses)
MVRMA also recognizes Safety Performance Award
winners, those departments with three or more consecutive zero-loss years.
The 2004 recipients are as follows:
Police: Wilmington (5 years)
Fire & EMS: Tipp City (4 years), West
Carrollton & Wyoming (3 years)
Water/Wastewater: Vandalia (11 years),
West Carrollton (6 years)
Parks & Rec: Madeira (10 years),
Montgomery (4 years)
Beginning in 1998, the Award of Excellence was
established to recognize cities with 50% less than the "expected" average
dollar loss per employee ($100 or less). Recipients of this award are
listed in the special insert along with this year's Special Achievement
winners. Kudos to all of our winners!
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