City receives 60-day extension on liability insurance
Lead Summary
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
The city of Hillsboro has received a 60-day extension in their liability insurance coverage so they will have time to investigate bids they received for a future contract.
The Hillsboro City Council met Wednesday in a special session to review and select one of four bids submitted on July 21. The current contract was set to be up Aug. 1. Council's finance committee analyzed and discussed the insurance bids for two hours prior to the council meeting, and the debate continued for more than an hour during the special session. A vote on the matter ended in a 3-3 tie.
Hillsboro City Council President Lee Koogler said Friday that the city spoke with Heskett Insurance, the current provider, and that a 60-day extension on the policy was approved. The plan now expires Oct. 1.
Hillsboro Safety and Service Director Ralph Holt told The Highland County Press that he had been in contact with other area municipalities to see how they handle the specifications when they put liability insurance out for bid.
Because the information in the bids are only guaranteed for 30 days, Holt said there is a possibility they will have to rebid for insurance, and that is a multi-week process.
"I'm trying to figure out what other cities are doing and what their bid packets are like," Holt said. "I have talked with Wilmington, and they are supposed to get back with me on Monday. I am just trying to get the information so council can make a decision."
During the discussion Wednesday, council had a hard time determining which bid was the lowest because the four different bidders had put different items in their proposals. Council discussed the process and specifications on which the bids were submitted, how the different bids could be compared accurately, what constituted the lowest bid, if the city had to accept the lowest bid, and the justifications for choosing a more expensive bid.
The city has not put bids out for liability insurance since 1998.
When the bids were put to a vote, the six members in attendance considered a motion to accept a plan presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Russ Newman. Koogler declined to break the 3-3 tie, and opted to seek an extension on the current insurance plan.
During a tie vote, it is up to the council president to cast the deciding vote. On Wednesday Koogler explained that he had discussed with Hillsboro Law Director Fred Beery what he would do if Wednesday's vote was a draw.
"He indicated to me that if I felt the issue was not right for me to make a decision to go forward, that I could choose not to cast a vote in that scenario and put it back to the drawing board," Koogler said Wednesday. "That is what I am going to do at this time. I am not going to cast the deciding vote."
The city of Hillsboro has received a 60-day extension in their liability insurance coverage so they will have time to investigate bids they received for a future contract.
The Hillsboro City Council met Wednesday in a special session to review and select one of four bids submitted on July 21. The current contract was set to be up Aug. 1. Council's finance committee analyzed and discussed the insurance bids for two hours prior to the council meeting, and the debate continued for more than an hour during the special session. A vote on the matter ended in a 3-3 tie.
Hillsboro City Council President Lee Koogler said Friday that the city spoke with Heskett Insurance, the current provider, and that a 60-day extension on the policy was approved. The plan now expires Oct. 1.
Hillsboro Safety and Service Director Ralph Holt told The Highland County Press that he had been in contact with other area municipalities to see how they handle the specifications when they put liability insurance out for bid.
Because the information in the bids are only guaranteed for 30 days, Holt said there is a possibility they will have to rebid for insurance, and that is a multi-week process.
"I'm trying to figure out what other cities are doing and what their bid packets are like," Holt said. "I have talked with Wilmington, and they are supposed to get back with me on Monday. I am just trying to get the information so council can make a decision."
During the discussion Wednesday, council had a hard time determining which bid was the lowest because the four different bidders had put different items in their proposals. Council discussed the process and specifications on which the bids were submitted, how the different bids could be compared accurately, what constituted the lowest bid, if the city had to accept the lowest bid, and the justifications for choosing a more expensive bid.
The city has not put bids out for liability insurance since 1998.
When the bids were put to a vote, the six members in attendance considered a motion to accept a plan presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Russ Newman. Koogler declined to break the 3-3 tie and opted to seek an extension on the current insurance plan.
During a tie vote, it is up to the council president to cast the deciding vote. On Wednesday, Koogler explained that he had discussed with Hillsboro Law Director Fred Beery what he would do if Wednesday's vote was a draw.
"He indicated to me that if I felt the issue was not right for me to make a decision to go forward, that I could choose not to cast a vote in that scenario and put it back to the drawing board," Koogler said Wednesday. "That is what I am going to do at this time. I am not going to cast the deciding vote."
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