Spring 2008Inside this issue:

Greetings! . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Membership Matters . . . . . 1

Be our Guest: Market Conditions . . . . . . 3

Signs, Postings and Forms: Oh My! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Member Spotlight: Mendocino Community Service District... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Take Note . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Spring is in the air and thoughts are turning to summer vaca-tions and time with family and loved ones. For Golden State Risk Management Au-thority (GSRMA), springtime brings

actuarial studies, program renewals, contribution calculations and the ad-dition of new members. This period is the busiest of times for us as we prepare for the coming fi scal year. Our excess insurance programs (Ex-cess Insurance Authority and Schools Excess Liability Fund) are in the midst of calculating their 2008/09 renew-als. Early indications suggest some excellent enhancements for GSRMA’s programs.

Scott SchimkeRisk Manager

Contribution v. Rates. There can be some confusion when we discuss member rates and member contri-butions. GSRMA’s overall rates are decreasing for the 2008-2009 renewal; but, some individual member’s an-nual contributions may increase. Rate refers to the cost per unit of coverage. That unit is based on payroll or the value of insured property. Losses paid by GSRMA are another factor in the formula. Workers compensation costs are generally refl ected in price per $100 of payroll. That is the rate. Contribution refers to the total amount (premium) owed for the coverage year. The contribution is a

(Continued on Page 2)

result of the rate multiplied by the units of coverage. Most GSRMA members will see a decrease in their contribution. Members whose payroll and or property value increases exceed the amount of the rate reduction, may have a higher contri-bution. Simply put, you can have a lower rate, and a higher contribution. The good news is that if this is your situa-

Mendocino Community Ser-vices District (MCSD)Location: Mendocino, Medocino County

Manager: Mike Kelley

Secretary: Jodi Mitchell

GSRMA (Golden State Risk Management Authority) Board Meeting – Held at the GSRMA offi ce 247 W Sycamore Street, Willows, CA 95988. Next meetings are July 9, 2008 and September 10, 2008.

GSRMA (Golden State Risk Management Authority) - Compliance Training Day –May 27, 2008. Willows, California.

CAJPA (California Association of Joint Powers Authorities) – Fall Conference – September 17-19, 2008. South Lake Tahoe, California.

GSRMA/PCA Annual Training – October 30-31, 2008. Rolling Hills Casino, Corning California.

MCSD runs a state-of the-art waste-water treatment facility and a very complex municipal water district and groundwater management agency for the town of Mendo-cino. Mendocino has a population of 1,000 and serves a large tourist population.The district employs 4 people and has been a GSRMA member since July, 2006.

247 West Sycamore StreetPost Offi ce Box 706Willows, California 95988

www.gsrma.org

Phone: 530-934-5633Fax: 530-934-8133

Membership Matters By Dan Berry (dberry@gsrma.org)

Greetings!Greetings!Greetings!Greetings! All indications are that in the work-ers’ compensation program, GSRMA’s rate is down approximately 10% from 2007/08 and that we will be able to provide our members with statutory limits eff ective July 1, 2008. Our li-ability program is also improving with our ability to secure higher limits. For 2008/09, GSRMA will be able to pro-vide up to $75 million or more in per occurrence limits. It may seem unlikely that one of our members would ever need such high limits. But consider this: Last year a public entity in South-ern California settled a suit with two joggers that were run down by a drunk driver. The entity may have been found marginally at fault due to dangerous condition issues and that the driver had no assets. So, because California’s “deep pockets” statutes, the

Take NoteTake NoteTake NoteTake NoteMemberMemberMemberMemberSpotlightSpotlightSpotlightSpotlight

Page 1Golden State Risk Management Authority Spring 2008

NEWEST MEMBERS

Elk Grove - Rancho • Cordova - El Dorado Connector Authority

Newville Cemetery • District

Arbuckle Public Utility • District

Castroville Cemetery • District

(Continued on Page 2)

Payroll Contribution and Rate Trend

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09

PayrollContributionRate/100

entity settled for $50 million to avoid the possibility of an even larger award from a sympathetic jury. Such awards can and do happen, so, the higher the limits, the better protection you can provide to your district and its con-stituents against even an astronomical award. At their March, 2008 meeting, the GSR-MA Board tentatively set the 2008/09 program contribution rates. Overall, the liability rate has dropped slightly com-pared to last year, the workers’ compen-

(Greetings - Continued from Page 1)

You may remember the lyrics “Sign, sign, everywhere a sign”, from a song by the 5-Man Electrical Band. Sadly, this song still rings too true especially here in our great State of California. Signs are especially prevalent in our work environment. “Do Not Disturb”, “Do Not Distribute”, “Do Not Adjust”, “Lock-out/Tag-out”, “Caution: Hot Exhaust”, “Do Not Stack More Than 3 High”, “This End Up”, “Warning:…”, and etc. Employers have a slew of federal and state posting requirements. If you have more than 10 employees then the Cal OSHA Log 300 needs to be posted annually as well.You need to have postings that tell your employees where to go for care if they are injured; postings that ad-vise them of their rights and provide information from State and Federal authorities about voting rights, time off , minimum wage, discrimination, the Fair Employment and Housing Authority … and the list goes on. In addition, many forms and docu-ments must be kept on-hand and it is required that several forms be presented to all new hires. These include the Unemployment notice (DR2320), if applicable; State disabil-ity (DE2515), if applicable, Workers’

ing a compliance day on May 27th in Willows. Look for details in this news-letter, or contact GSRMA if you have any questions.

Everyone is interested in protecting the environment and saving resources. Many of the solutions seem politically or “corporate image” motivated, and more symbolic than eff ective. This month’s spotlighted member, Mendoci-no Community Services District (MCSD) found a solution that was both cost-eff ective and positive for the environment. MCSD had to transport 40-45 truckloads of bio-solids per year to a sanitary land fi ll 100’s of miles away in Contra Costa County. It was extreme-ly expensive, and tons of hazardous waste was being transported on public roads.

(Membership Matters - Continued from Page 1)

tion, it means that your agency is probably growing.

Most members are aware of mandates regarding sexual harassment training, and ethics training. Generally speaking, anyone who makes decisions about employees’ duties, pay or evaluation must complete the harassment training every two years. Individuals that make decisions regarding district funds are required to complete eth-ics training every two years. Public entities need to comply with these mandates no matter how many employees they have. For smaller entities, managers and board mem-bers may need to complete both trainings. These mandates initially went into eff ect roughly two years ago. Most individuals who needed to comply are now coming up on needing to re-train. From a loss preven-tion standpoint, GSRMA feels it is important to provide access to these trainings for all of our members. GSRMA members can complete these courses on their own time via the MemberLink online risk manage-ment system. For those who prefer to take the courses in a live setting, GSRMA is off er-

Page 2 Page 5Golden State Risk Management Authority Spring 2008 Golden State Risk Management Authority Spring 2008

GSRMA is hosting a Compliance Training Day on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at Pat N Larry’s Steakhouse in Wil-lows, Glenn County. Sexual Harassment Training (SB1825) for Supervisors will be presented by Linda Garrett of Risk Management Services at 9:30 and Eth-ics Training (AB1234) will be presented by JoAnne Spears of the Institute for Local Government at 1:30 and 6:00. Contact Cynthia in our offi ce to enroll. Th is year’s GSRMA annual training day will be held on October 30th, 2008 at the Rolling Hills Casino (www.roll-inghillscasino.com) in Corning, Tehama

Save Th e Dates Save Th e Dates Save Th e Dates Save Th e Dates

Gale Hamon (ghamon@gsrma.org)

Signs, Postings and Forms: Oh My!

GSRMA Employee Benefi ts

Looking for Health Benefi ts? Paying too much for through your current plan? Be sure to take a look at the features and costs of the GSRMA Health Plan packages.

Please contact Dan Berry for more infor-mation

sation rate is down approximately 10% and the property program is mostly un-changed. These rates are largely based on our 2008/09 actuarial study. This study confi rmed GSRMA’s continued strength in all programs. These pro-posed rates are good news especially considering GSRMA’s total membership payroll is up 10% and the total insured property values exceed $245,000,000. The lower rates will mostly off set the increased contribution amounts which would otherwise increase as payrolls

grow. In addition, the Board is contem-plating a $100,000 dividend in the liability program. They are considering this action based on the excellent fi nan-cial condition of this program and contin-ued improvement in membership loss control activities.

The district solved this problem by installing a state-of-the-art drying system that reduces the volume of these solids by 95%. The residual product is pathogen-free and can be used as fertilizer. Now, only two local transfers of non-hazardous materials are made each year. The district has taken real action to be a leader in protecting the envi-ronment.

GSRMA’s membership continues to grow as word of our services, coverage limits, rates and mem-ber support travels throughout the State. Currently, we have 150 individual public entity mem-bers. Our projections are that this number will grow by more than 10% by the start of the new fi scal year in July, 2008. This new growth will continue to increase GSRMA’s fi scal strength. In closing, GSRMA is very excited with the prospect of improving services to members, increasing policy limits and coverages, add-ing new members and providing its existing membership with a $100,000 liability dividend dur-ing 2008/09. Remember, GSRMA is your program and we hope you take great pride in being a member of one of the fi nest joint powers authorities in California and the United States.

Th e Fenton RK-36 Bio-Solids Dehydration System

Page 5

Training SpotlightMost classes completed for the Quarter ended

March, 2008

County of Glenn (151 classes)

Ukiah Valley Fire (123 classes)

Jasen Escue - Hamilton Rural Fire

(51 classes)

Jaime Davalos - Williams Fire (26 classes)

Compensation rights and benefi ts; Sexual Harassment Information Sheet; California Paid Family Leave Act; and others, depending on the size and type of your operation. If Cal-OSHA makes a visit, due either to an injury incident or an employee complaint, they will ex-amine whether the required signs are posted, the required forms have been presented and other required items such as an Injury/Illness Pre-vention Plan, exist. Are your Material Safety Data Sheets readily available? Cal-OSHA will be looking for these too. Failure to properly display the re-quired postings could result in fi nes averaging $2,000, though this can vary depending on the seriousness of the infraction. In the past, fi nes for serious violations have reached $18,000. To avoid the possibility of such fi nes, you should make sure you are compliant with Cal-OSHA require-ments. You can fi nd a list of required postings online at www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/puborder.asp. Select the Work-place Postings link on the left side of the Webpage to fi nd the postings you are required to have as a public entity. Alternatively, simply call the Consultation Unit of Cal-OSHA at 1-800-963-9424.

Finally, you are required to pres-ent a pamphlet entitled Facts for Injured Workers to your new hires. (When we receive notice of a claim, we prepare an opening letter to the injured worker. With this letter we send a mileage claim form for their medical expenses and this pam-phlet as well.) This pamphlet can be purchased from the CWCI (California Workers’ Compensation Institute). It is avail-able in both English and Spanish. Contact the CWCI at 1111 Broad-way, Suite 2350, Oakland, CA 94607 or visit them online at www.cwci.org. You can also check with Stan-dard Register at 1-800-772-9596, ex-tension 1906, another good source for such items. Our members should be sure to review posting and form require-ments annually. Setting side a little time to conduct such a review can keep you out of hot water down the road.

County. For the fi rst time, the event will be held in conjunction with the Public Cemetery Alliance’s annual meeting which will be held at the same location on October 31st. Th e Keynote speaker for our training day will be Gordon Graham, a nation-ally recognized speaker on loss preven-tion. Mr. Graham, a former CHP offi cer and attorney, will provide a educational, interesting and highly entertaining pre-sentation to those in attendance. Mark your calendars now. Contact our offi ce for additional information and registra-tions forms.

this point (above $200K for WC and $250K for liability claims) that GSRMA joins forces with EIA and transfers the risk of infre-quent large losses to the EIA.

The EIA has 210 public entities including 22 pools represent-ing more than 1,600 individual public entities. With such a large membership base, the EIA is able to comfortably absorb all WC and liability claims up to $5 million for each occurrence. In 2007/08 the EIA collected $38 million to fund the excess WC ex-posure and set aside another $25 million for excess liability claims. The EIA risk fi nancing model is essentially the same as GSRMA’s – that is, all members pool the risk of the more frequent pre-dictable losses in the most ef-fi cient manner. Not only is there no profi t margin built into the pooled layers, funds are retained and invested for the benefi t of the membership. In 2007/08 the EIA investment portfolio exceed-ed $500 million for the fi rst time. Because of the EIA’s size, there is a greater ca-pacity than GSRMA or any of its other individual members to re-tain risk. However, at some level it also becomes too expensive or too risky for the EIA to self-insure the infrequent large claims (in this case above $5 million for WC and liability). At this point the EIA transfers the risk of loss to the insurance industry which is better able to assume this cata-strophic risk. Purchasing insurance is not as effi cient as pooling risk because there are frictional costs that may include fees or commissions to brokers and taxes and other fees. The insurers also build in profi t margins and an allowance for their own expenses which can be as much as 8 times more than a public entity pool’s ex-

The CSAC Excess In-surance Au-thority (EIA) and Golden State Risk Manage-ment Authority (GSRMA)

have been risk fi nancing partners for more than 20 years. Throughout our long partnership we have thrived together, and at times survived to-gether as part of an industry that we swore we would not be beholden to. The constant ebbs and fl ows, and sometimes violent shifts in the insur-ance market gave birth to the public entity pooling industry 30 years ago amid cries from public offi cials that we will never again be subject to the whims of the insurance market. Those cries were echoed in the liabil-ity insurance crisis in the mid-80’s and again in the workers’ compensa-tion crisis from 2002—2004. Have we been successful in insulating our member public entities from the extreme market conditions in which we sometimes operate? Or are we still dependent, locked into a love-hate relationship with the industry that created us? Public entity pools have learned to operate effi ciently in cooperation with the insurance industry. We have not eliminated market swings and the impact it can have on members, but we have successfully provided a buff er to these extreme market conditions. Some pools such as GSRMA and EIA have fi gured out how to maximize the benefi ts that the insurance industry off ers and minimize the pools’ dependency on the insurance markets. GSRMA is able to fi nance the risk of loss in a very effi cient manner for all of the normal, routine expected claims. The 148 members of GSRMA are eff ectively insuring each other and doing it in the most effi cient way without a profi t motive. But at some level, the group’s ability to absorb losses reaches its capacity and it becomes too expensive or too risky to retain these losses. It is at

Be Our Guest: Market Conditions

Page 3Golden State Risk Management Authority Spring 2008

penses. In addition, once the in-surance is purchased, the money is spent and there is no opportu-nity to earn investment income and return dividends to members if loss experience is better than expected. The good news is that the higher we push the buying point for insurance, the lower the rates become even though the ul-timate risk to the insurers is great. Most of the risk fi nancing dollars are in the more effi cient pooling layers and there are relatively fewer dollars in the less effi cient insured layers. By way of exam-ple, in 2007/08 the EIA collected $59 million in contributions from members for excess workers’ compensation claims including $38 million for pooled losses and $21 million for insurance. For the excess liability program, the total contributions from members was $27 million with $25 million to fund pooled losses and $2 million for the purchase of insurance. The purchase of commercial in-

surance is less effi cient than risk pooling, but it is an essen-

tial element of a pool’s risk fi nanc-ing program. Although we could survive (and we have at times survived) without the insurance market, the market provides very important balance sheet protec-tion for EIA and GSRMA pools. Without this protection we would be subject to the risk of paying extremely large claims that would expose members unduely to as-sessment risk. Even if the cata-strophic claims don’t materialize, the pool would have to continue to hold large sums of the mem-bers’ money as a precaution instead of returning dividends to members. The insurance market goes through cycles in which they be-come very competitive by slash-ing rates and enhancing coverage (soft market) on the one

Th e CSAC - Excess Insurance Authority

(CSAC - EIA)

“Not only is there no profit margin built into the pooled layers, funds are retained and invested for the benefit of the membership”

Page 4 Golden State Risk Management Authority Spring 2008

Michael Fleming is the Chief Executive Officer of the CSAC Excess Insurance Authority (EIA), an insurance joint powers authority ser ving its county and public entity membership. Mr. Fleming has been with the EIA for 24 years including the last 16 as the Chief Executive. He has received a Diploma in Risk and Insur-ance from the Col lege of Insurance, New York and an Associate in Risk Management (ARM) from the Insurance Institute of America.

extreme, to an environment where rates can double or triple and cover-age restrict almost overnight (hard market) on the other extreme. In a soft market, the insurance industry does not collect enough money to pay all claims either through under pricing or suff ering catastrophic claims, or both. When this happens, the industry reacts by dramatically raising rates. This rate correction often includes several components including an adjustment to a more appropriate rate for the risk, an “as-sessment” to help pay for claims the insurer has already incurred, and if it is a really hard market, there is a greed factor included just because they can. In these extreme hard market conditions there have been times when coverage was simply unavailable at any price. These ex-treme conditions gave birth to fi rst generation public entity pools such as GSRMA and EIA in the late 70’s. Now that public entity pooling is well established as an industry, we are prepared to co-exist with the in-surance market in both hard and soft market cycles. The most important lesson we have learned is that there is strength in numbers. Size matters, and it is through cooperative rela-tionships like the GSRMA/EIA rela-tionship that we are able to leverage our size and protect our members from the violent market swings. The business plan is simple – in a hard market we will pool to a higher level and purchase less insurance cover-age. In a soft market we tend to buy more insurance and pool less risk, even in layers that we would nor-mally be comfortable pooling when the insurance market prices the

coverage cheaper than we would prudently fund on a pooled basis. We utilize our pooling capacity as a shock absorber, contracting in a soft market (less pooling, more insurance) and expanding in a hard market (more pooling, less insurance). There is one additional very important aspect to this busi-ness plan – we must never again become reliant on the insurance in-dustry. If we are to remain success-ful, we must continue to control our own destiny. This can only be accomplished by demonstrating discipline in soft market condi-tions. As a group, we have to look at the long-term and plan for the day when the market will surely turn. As individual public entities, we have to continue to support our pooling relationships understand-ing that soft market “killer deals” are temporary and if we don’t protect our pools with our loyalty in the soft market, the pool will not be in a position to protect us when the market turns. As we look forward to the 2008/09 fi scal year, we fi nd our-selves in the midst of a very soft insurance market for all three major lines of coverage -- Prop-erty, WC and Liability. The pool-ing “shock absorber” is doing its job by contracting. The property program renewed on March 31, 2008 dramatically increasing the amount of earthquake coverage purchased at rate decreases aver-aging 21%. GSRMA participates in a special arrangement with a fi xed $25 million earthquake limit

which is provided at no addition-al cost. Therefore, GSRMA will likely see a very steady renewal with a slight rate decrease. The expiring excess W.C. pro-gram will renew on July 1, 2008 at lower rates and with signifi -cant coverage enhancements. The $300 million limit on the current program will be replaced by statutory limits (unlimited) and certain restrictions on the program’s structure will also be removed. We will be buying more coverage for less money! On the excess liability program that GSRMA participates in, the insurance coverage above $5 million will renew on a “fl at” rate basis (no change) on July 1st. We expect to be able to evaluate options to perhaps lower the $5 million pool retention by buying an additional layer of insurance coverage. If this transaction will save the members money and protect the pool, it is likely that we will take advantage of the availability of this coverage through this soft market. Has the pooling industry been successful in insulating our member public entities from the violent swings in the insurance market? The answer is yes we have, and yes we will continue to do so as long as we stick together through soft market conditions, remain focused on the long-term, and position ourselves to adjust to changing market conditions.

entity settled for $50 million to avoid the possibility of an even larger award from a sympathetic jury. Such awards can and do happen, so, the higher the limits, the better protection you can provide to your district and its con-stituents against even an astronomical award. At their March, 2008 meeting, the GSR-MA Board tentatively set the 2008/09 program contribution rates. Overall, the liability rate has dropped slightly com-pared to last year, the workers’ compen-

(Greetings - Continued from Page 1)

You may remember the lyrics “Sign, sign, everywhere a sign”, from a song by the 5-Man Electrical Band. Sadly, this song still rings too true especially here in our great State of California. Signs are especially prevalent in our work environment. “Do Not Disturb”, “Do Not Distribute”, “Do Not Adjust”, “Lock-out/Tag-out”, “Caution: Hot Exhaust”, “Do Not Stack More Than 3 High”, “This End Up”, “Warning:…”, and etc. Employers have a slew of federal and state posting requirements. If you have more than 10 employees then the Cal OSHA Log 300 needs to be posted annually as well.You need to have postings that tell your employees where to go for care if they are injured; postings that ad-vise them of their rights and provide information from State and Federal authorities about voting rights, time off , minimum wage, discrimination, the Fair Employment and Housing Authority … and the list goes on. In addition, many forms and docu-ments must be kept on-hand and it is required that several forms be presented to all new hires. These include the Unemployment notice (DR2320), if applicable; State disabil-ity (DE2515), if applicable, Workers’

ing a compliance day on May 27th in Willows. Look for details in this news-letter, or contact GSRMA if you have any questions.

Everyone is interested in protecting the environment and saving resources. Many of the solutions seem politically or “corporate image” motivated, and more symbolic than eff ective. This month’s spotlighted member, Mendoci-no Community Services District (MCSD) found a solution that was both cost-eff ective and positive for the environment. MCSD had to transport 40-45 truckloads of bio-solids per year to a sanitary land fi ll 100’s of miles away in Contra Costa County. It was extreme-ly expensive, and tons of hazardous waste was being transported on public roads.

(Membership Matters - Continued from Page 1)

tion, it means that your agency is probably growing.

Most members are aware of mandates regarding sexual harassment training, and ethics training. Generally speaking, anyone who makes decisions about employees’ duties, pay or evaluation must complete the harassment training every two years. Individuals that make decisions regarding district funds are required to complete eth-ics training every two years. Public entities need to comply with these mandates no matter how many employees they have. For smaller entities, managers and board mem-bers may need to complete both trainings. These mandates initially went into eff ect roughly two years ago. Most individuals who needed to comply are now coming up on needing to re-train. From a loss preven-tion standpoint, GSRMA feels it is important to provide access to these trainings for all of our members. GSRMA members can complete these courses on their own time via the MemberLink online risk manage-ment system. For those who prefer to take the courses in a live setting, GSRMA is off er-

Page 2 Page 5Golden State Risk Management Authority Spring 2008 Golden State Risk Management Authority Spring 2008

GSRMA is hosting a Compliance Training Day on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at Pat N Larry’s Steakhouse in Wil-lows, Glenn County. Sexual Harassment Training (SB1825) for Supervisors will be presented by Linda Garrett of Risk Management Services at 9:30 and Eth-ics Training (AB1234) will be presented by JoAnne Spears of the Institute for Local Government at 1:30 and 6:00. Contact Cynthia in our offi ce to enroll. Th is year’s GSRMA annual training day will be held on October 30th, 2008 at the Rolling Hills Casino (www.roll-inghillscasino.com) in Corning, Tehama

Save Th e Dates Save Th e Dates Save Th e Dates Save Th e Dates

Gale Hamon (ghamon@gsrma.org)

Signs, Postings and Forms: Oh My!

GSRMA Employee Benefi ts

Looking for Health Benefi ts? Paying too much for through your current plan? Be sure to take a look at the features and costs of the GSRMA Health Plan packages.

Please contact Dan Berry for more infor-mation

sation rate is down approximately 10% and the property program is mostly un-changed. These rates are largely based on our 2008/09 actuarial study. This study confi rmed GSRMA’s continued strength in all programs. These pro-posed rates are good news especially considering GSRMA’s total membership payroll is up 10% and the total insured property values exceed $245,000,000. The lower rates will mostly off set the increased contribution amounts which would otherwise increase as payrolls

grow. In addition, the Board is contem-plating a $100,000 dividend in the liability program. They are considering this action based on the excellent fi nan-cial condition of this program and contin-ued improvement in membership loss control activities.

The district solved this problem by installing a state-of-the-art drying system that reduces the volume of these solids by 95%. The residual product is pathogen-free and can be used as fertilizer. Now, only two local transfers of non-hazardous materials are made each year. The district has taken real action to be a leader in protecting the envi-ronment.

GSRMA’s membership continues to grow as word of our services, coverage limits, rates and mem-ber support travels throughout the State. Currently, we have 150 individual public entity mem-bers. Our projections are that this number will grow by more than 10% by the start of the new fi scal year in July, 2008. This new growth will continue to increase GSRMA’s fi scal strength. In closing, GSRMA is very excited with the prospect of improving services to members, increasing policy limits and coverages, add-ing new members and providing its existing membership with a $100,000 liability dividend dur-ing 2008/09. Remember, GSRMA is your program and we hope you take great pride in being a member of one of the fi nest joint powers authorities in California and the United States.

Th e Fenton RK-36 Bio-Solids Dehydration System

Page 5

Training SpotlightMost classes completed for the Quarter ended

March, 2008

County of Glenn (151 classes)

Ukiah Valley Fire (123 classes)

Jasen Escue - Hamilton Rural Fire

(51 classes)

Jaime Davalos - Williams Fire (26 classes)

Compensation rights and benefi ts; Sexual Harassment Information Sheet; California Paid Family Leave Act; and others, depending on the size and type of your operation. If Cal-OSHA makes a visit, due either to an injury incident or an employee complaint, they will ex-amine whether the required signs are posted, the required forms have been presented and other required items such as an Injury/Illness Pre-vention Plan, exist. Are your Material Safety Data Sheets readily available? Cal-OSHA will be looking for these too. Failure to properly display the re-quired postings could result in fi nes averaging $2,000, though this can vary depending on the seriousness of the infraction. In the past, fi nes for serious violations have reached $18,000. To avoid the possibility of such fi nes, you should make sure you are compliant with Cal-OSHA require-ments. You can fi nd a list of required postings online at www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/puborder.asp. Select the Work-place Postings link on the left side of the Webpage to fi nd the postings you are required to have as a public entity. Alternatively, simply call the Consultation Unit of Cal-OSHA at 1-800-963-9424.

Finally, you are required to pres-ent a pamphlet entitled Facts for Injured Workers to your new hires. (When we receive notice of a claim, we prepare an opening letter to the injured worker. With this letter we send a mileage claim form for their medical expenses and this pam-phlet as well.) This pamphlet can be purchased from the CWCI (California Workers’ Compensation Institute). It is avail-able in both English and Spanish. Contact the CWCI at 1111 Broad-way, Suite 2350, Oakland, CA 94607 or visit them online at www.cwci.org. You can also check with Stan-dard Register at 1-800-772-9596, ex-tension 1906, another good source for such items. Our members should be sure to review posting and form require-ments annually. Setting side a little time to conduct such a review can keep you out of hot water down the road.

County. For the fi rst time, the event will be held in conjunction with the Public Cemetery Alliance’s annual meeting which will be held at the same location on October 31st. Th e Keynote speaker for our training day will be Gordon Graham, a nation-ally recognized speaker on loss preven-tion. Mr. Graham, a former CHP offi cer and attorney, will provide a educational, interesting and highly entertaining pre-sentation to those in attendance. Mark your calendars now. Contact our offi ce for additional information and registra-tions forms.

Spring 2008Inside this issue:

Greetings! . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Membership Matters . . . . . 1

Be our Guest: Market Conditions . . . . . . 3

Signs, Postings and Forms: Oh My! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Member Spotlight: Mendocino Community Service District... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Take Note . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Spring is in the air and thoughts are turning to summer vaca-tions and time with family and loved ones. For Golden State Risk Management Au-thority (GSRMA), springtime brings

actuarial studies, program renewals, contribution calculations and the ad-dition of new members. This period is the busiest of times for us as we prepare for the coming fi scal year. Our excess insurance programs (Ex-cess Insurance Authority and Schools Excess Liability Fund) are in the midst of calculating their 2008/09 renew-als. Early indications suggest some excellent enhancements for GSRMA’s programs.

Scott SchimkeRisk Manager

Contribution v. Rates. There can be some confusion when we discuss member rates and member contri-butions. GSRMA’s overall rates are decreasing for the 2008-2009 renewal; but, some individual member’s an-nual contributions may increase. Rate refers to the cost per unit of coverage. That unit is based on payroll or the value of insured property. Losses paid by GSRMA are another factor in the formula. Workers compensation costs are generally refl ected in price per $100 of payroll. That is the rate. Contribution refers to the total amount (premium) owed for the coverage year. The contribution is a

(Continued on Page 2)

result of the rate multiplied by the units of coverage. Most GSRMA members will see a decrease in their contribution. Members whose payroll and or property value increases exceed the amount of the rate reduction, may have a higher contri-bution. Simply put, you can have a lower rate, and a higher contribution. The good news is that if this is your situa-

Mendocino Community Ser-vices District (MCSD)Location: Mendocino, Medocino County

Manager: Mike Kelley

Secretary: Jodi Mitchell

GSRMA (Golden State Risk Management Authority) Board Meeting – Held at the GSRMA offi ce 247 W Sycamore Street, Willows, CA 95988. Next meetings are July 9, 2008 and September 10, 2008.

GSRMA (Golden State Risk Management Authority) - Compliance Training Day –May 27, 2008. Willows, California.

CAJPA (California Association of Joint Powers Authorities) – Fall Conference – September 17-19, 2008. South Lake Tahoe, California.

GSRMA/PCA Annual Training – October 30-31, 2008. Rolling Hills Casino, Corning California.

MCSD runs a state-of the-art waste-water treatment facility and a very complex municipal water district and groundwater management agency for the town of Mendo-cino. Mendocino has a population of 1,000 and serves a large tourist population.The district employs 4 people and has been a GSRMA member since July, 2006.

247 West Sycamore StreetPost Offi ce Box 706Willows, California 95988

www.gsrma.org

Phone: 530-934-5633Fax: 530-934-8133

Membership Matters By Dan Berry (dberry@gsrma.org)

Greetings!Greetings!Greetings!Greetings! All indications are that in the work-ers’ compensation program, GSRMA’s rate is down approximately 10% from 2007/08 and that we will be able to provide our members with statutory limits eff ective July 1, 2008. Our li-ability program is also improving with our ability to secure higher limits. For 2008/09, GSRMA will be able to pro-vide up to $75 million or more in per occurrence limits. It may seem unlikely that one of our members would ever need such high limits. But consider this: Last year a public entity in South-ern California settled a suit with two joggers that were run down by a drunk driver. The entity may have been found marginally at fault due to dangerous condition issues and that the driver had no assets. So, because California’s “deep pockets” statutes, the

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Page 1Golden State Risk Management Authority Spring 2008

NEWEST MEMBERS

Elk Grove - Rancho • Cordova - El Dorado Connector Authority

Newville Cemetery • District

Arbuckle Public Utility • District

Castroville Cemetery • District

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Payroll Contribution and Rate Trend

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