Accomplishments (2006 - 2011)
Improved Employee Benefits/Wellness
- Successfully bid and selected new providers for medical, dental, prescription, and vision plans, which resulted in deeper discounts; Humana provided ease of use for the flexible special account through a VISA access card, doubling the number of employees participating in the program. (FY2008)
- Term life insurance benefit was increased from $20,000 to $50,000. (FY2008)
- Implemented improved dental benefits and separate vision benefits plan. (FY2011)
- Implemented spring wellness lunch and learn programs. (FY2011)
- After review with employee health care committee, voluntary/specialty insurance benefits were initiated through payroll deduction. (CY2011)
- Installed wellness bulletin boards throughout City department and implemented quarterly wellness newsletter. (CY2011)
- Implemented and coordinated a Walking Challenge program that involved fifteen teams and 48 employees who logged over 16.1 million steps during the three-month challenge. (CY2011)
Ways We Are Saving Money
- Made two changes to the employee medical benefits plan, to that point the only reductions in plan coverage since the City went self-funded in 1992: decreased City’s liability for injuries occurring from hazard hobbies, and to change the co-pays for prescription medications. The change in prescription co-pays saved the City approximately $70,000 in the first year. (FY2006)
- The City’s workers’ compensation insurance premium is based in part on an Experience Modifier Factor (EMF). An average would be 1.00. The average EMF for the City in the nine years prior to 2006 was .72. In FY2006 it was .62. As of FY2012 it was .56, providing an estimated premium savings of $166,000 when compared to a premium based on a 1.00 EMF.
- Implemented plan design changes to the employee medical benefits plan including three tiers and the spousal waiver program requiring spouses to take their employer’s insurance when group coverage is offered; self-funded dental benefits. (FY2009)
- Various actions were taken to in risk management to save money (FY2011):
- Fire truck value assessment method was reviewed; appropriate changes to the policy resulted in a premium refund of $12,435
- Reviewed three years of workers’ compensation payroll audit reports; corrections and changes resulted in a 2010 premium payment reduction of $11,380 and a later premium refund of another $4,034 for a total savings of $15,414
- Documented and submitted disaster reimbursement request to FEMA for the May 1, 2010 flood, which resulted in reimbursement of over $104,000 in expenses. (FY2011)
- Completed work with risk management consultant to review and analyze the City’s loss data and financial risk, and selected new deductible levels for various lines of insurance that would save the City approximately $70,000 a year. (FY2011)
- Recovered over $79,000 in City property losses through outside insurance agencies, City insurer and recovery from individuals through personal payments or court-ordered restitution. (FY2011)
- Evaluated and implemented recommendations to self-insure a portion of the vehicle schedule, finalized insurance endorsement reimbursement for auto and property schedules, which returned over $50,000 in excess premium payments and is projected to save the City $30,000 annually. (CY2011)
- Negotiated agreement renewal with PureSafety for on-line training, which increased the number of users while decreasing costs by $1,925/year for five years. (CY2011)
- Revisions to code and tabulation of payroll for the workers’ compensation payroll audit should save the City approximately $4,000 annually. (CY2011)
Better Ways of Working
- Solicited bids and selected an agent of record/consultant for all lines of employee benefits (FY2007)
- Finalized new insurance standards for the purchasing manual and bids; began more direct hands-on approach of reviewing certificates of insurance to eliminate or reduce the City’s exposure when contracting for services and construction projects. (FY2007)
- Public safety testing services were bid out and implemented in 2008-2009, which involved updating the job task analysis for promotional written tests. (FY2008)
- Due to separation of duties, assumed responsibility from Finance Department for entering new employees and other employee payroll and benefits information and changes into payroll software system along with position budgeting changes, edits and reviews during annual budget preparation. (FY2008)
- Initiated periodic auditing of public safety special pay eligibility such as assignment, shift, and EMT pay. (FY2009)
- Guided or assisted with employee Process Action Teams to improve part-time employee hiring process, employee emergency communications, and facilities security. (FY2010)
- Implemented new overtime/40 hour worked rule policy and compensatory leave request procedures, and worked with public safety staff to resolve related issues. (FY2010)
- The Risk Management Manual was completely revised. (FY2010)
- Several years’ worth of police employee investigation/conduct files and non-paper media were organized with file documentation prepared. (FY2011)
- Developed and obtained approval of the Fleet Equipment Technician career path program. (FY2011)
- After reviewing proposals, selected a contractor to help provide background information on non-police full-time hires. (FY2011)
- The salary history form in each employee’s personnel file was recreated electronically, which has sped up mass file updates for annual pay increases. (FY2011)
- Worked with high school group to develop a Student Solutions project regarding persuading students/people not to talk/text while driving. (FY2011)
- Public Safety Promotional Procedures were revised to allow candidates to carry over their average test score for one year, which also saved the City money in testing, interviewing and assessment center costs. (FY2011)
- Completed Request for Proposals bid process for employee medical services. (FY2011)
- Active employee personnel files were completely reorganized with the files having separate sections by topic to ease locating documents. (CY2011)
- Employee training records were completely updated and are now more closely tracked for new employees. (CY2011)
- The City joined Warren County Training Consortium to gain access to discounted-cost employee and supervisor training through WKU. (CY2011)
- Completed first comprehensive revision of the personnel policy manual in five years. (CY2011)
Improved Customer Service
- Increased testing for police officer to twice a year, and fine-tuned the schedule/process to shorten the hiring schedule by approximately two weeks for police officer and firefighter, resulting in a quicker fill-time for vacant positions. (FY2006)
- Benefits Corner was set up on the CLICK with links to the insurance web sites so employees can check claims; also gives the capability of downloading various forms. (FY2007)
- Began quarterly departmental meetings to explain employee benefits, on-line enrollment, to help employees be better consumers of their medical plan, and respond to questions (FY2010 – 76; FY2011 – 67; first half of FY2012 – 44)
- On-line annual benefits enrollment was implemented in cooperation with IT (FY2010)
Safe Work Environment
- Began developing division-specific safety orientation manuals for new employees. Over time since 2006, different manuals have been developed for eighteen divisions or job groups to aid in providing new employees with a safe work environment. Departments are primarily accountable for employee training.
- Installed fall protection systems at the Riverwalk and at the fire station mezzanines. (FY2007)
- Developed drug-free work place policy, the first KLC-certified city, resulting in a 5% premium savings; new policy included expansion of pre-employment testing to all part-time and seasonal employees as well as random drug and alcohol testing for safety sensitive positions. Each year the 5% insurance premium saves approximately $19,000 and pays about 75% of the cost of the pre-employment, random and post-accident drug and alcohol testing. (FY2009)
- Implemented the Smith System driver training program. (FY2009)
- Expanded Pure Safety on-line training to all departments. (FY2009)
