The Jefferson County Health Department scurried to find a new fleet insurance provider when it received notice at the end of September that its current one was dropping the department on Nov. 15.
Steve Sikes, the Health Department’s executive director, said Hartford Insurance, which was the insurance provider for the majority of the department’s fleet, dropped its coverage for the agency’s fleet due to its number of claims.
“We had two hailstorms that really pushed us over the top on that,” Sikes said.
He said the Health Department reported 21 vehicles and one trailer sustained hail damage in the spring. One vehicle and the trailer were not repaired.
In addition to the storm damage, there was a vehicle accident, Sikes said.
He said Hartford still provides the insurance for department’s building and contents, adding that five HVAC units at the Health Department’s current Hillsboro office also sustained hail damage.
During a special meeting on Nov. 13, the Board of Trustees reviewed three bids for fleet insurance: MOPERM (Missouri Public Entity Risk Management Fund) at a cost of $61,254 with a $5,000 deductible; National Indemnity at a cost of $114,432 with a $2,500 deductible and Berkshire Hathaway at $113,324 with a $1,000-$2,500 deductible depending on the vehicle. Sikes said the premiums are for the remainder of 2024 and the entirety of 2025.
“MOPERM, I believe, was established by state legislation for local governments to use,” Sikes said. “They are the lowest rate on the premium. The deductible is $5,000, so it’s a little bit higher, but I think we’re moving in that direction anyway because probably we need to start paying for a lot of damage, if we have damage, out of pocket and not submit so many claims because, apparently, we will get dropped.”
Sikes told the Health Department board that MOPERM looked like the best choice, adding that MOPERM would insure all the agency’s vehicles, which is about 30.
“It is a huge cost savings; we just have a higher deductible,” Sikes said.
By comparison, he said, from Nov. 15, 2023, to Nov. 15, 2024, the department paid Hartford $69,288 for all but four of the vehicles in the fleet. The deductible was $1,000.
Hartford didn’t offer insurance on the department’s two dental vans and two mosquito spray/surveillance trucks, so in 2024, the department paid National Indemnity $8,572 for insurance on the vans (with a $5,000 deductible) and paid Progressive $11,691 for insurance on the mosquito trucks (with a $1,000 deductible), Sikes said.
Sikes said the cost to insure the Health Department’s new wellness van is not in the quote because the department won’t receive the van until February or March.
The board voted 4-0 to select MOPERM as the new insurance company. Board member Valerie Brown Taylor was absent.
Board member Dennis Diehl asked if the Health Department could get some type of covered parking for the fleet, but Sikes said covered parking got cut from plans for the new
Hillsboro office under construction because of the expense.
Sikes said the department may need to look at the feasibility of reducing the fleet or considering coverage for liability only for some of the vehicles.
Budget
During the October meeting when comptroller Kristin Firle presented the preliminary budget, board President Tim Pigg pointed out that projected revenue is down from the year before.
“Yes, we are down $874,000, but we are also down that much on the expense side. That is due to contracts that ended in 2024 and some that are ending midyear in 2025,” Firle said.
She said the Health Department won’t be able to get the contracts it lost back because they were COVID-related.
The Health Department board voted unanimously Nov. 25 to approve a $9,153,947 final budget for the fiscal year 2025, which begins Jan. 1.
The operating revenue includes more than $2.8 million in grants and donations and more than $4.4 million in tax revenue. A total of $6,060,369 is budgeted for wages and benefits – about $113,514 more than the prior year. About $1.1 million is budgeted for program supplies.
A total of $684,438 is budgeted for capital improvements, which is the first annual payment on the new Hillsboro building, which is due in February.
The budget has $67,000 set aside for legal fees, but as a precaution, another $100,000 is budgeted under non-operating expenses for unforeseeable legal expenses.
“We (did this) last year as well for legal expenses, for the unforeseeable ones,” Firle said. “We have yet to dive into those from last year, but I put it in again next year just in case.”
Health Department spokesperson Brianne Zwiener said the department’s reserves are in good shape.
“Investment income and interest earned for the fiscal year 2024 (as of Oct. 31) have increased the reserve balance by $123,660,” she said.