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Specialty Lines
For more than 20 years CCAP has had a very active internship program, thanks to sponsorship by the CCAP UC Trust. We've been able to get many projects done through the hard work of interns. For example, our biannual Salary and Benefit Survey is a huge project, and interns have been responsible for much of the work taking the data from the counties and organizing it so similar job positions can be compared statewide. We've also had publications created or updated by interns, research work done for legislative policy purposes, assistance in the finance department with special projects, and much more. Through the years we have hosted more than 50 interns at CCAP.
We also make sure each intern learns about Pennsylvania county government and the important work all of you do. One of our goals is to also show interns what work is done by associations.
The internship is named for former Bucks County Chief Clerk Dave Steinbach, who was a long time member of the CCAP UC Trustees. The UC Trust provides funding so the interns receive a stipend during their time at CCAP.
We've also been fortunate that the internship program has brought us students who later became CCAP employees. We currently have six employees on our staff who were once in our internship program.
If you know of anyone who would be interested in an internship at CCAP, please review our internship brochure and feel free to have them contact me.
Make sure you contact us when you need help with something,
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PCoRP 30th Anniversary Dinner
Please join us for the PCoRP 30th Anniversary Dinner held at The Hotel Hershey on Monday, November 20 beginning at 6 p.m. This invitation is extended to county commissioners, chief clerks, solicitors and their home rule equivalence in counties that are members of PCoRP. PCoRP Local Producers are also invited to attend.
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UC Trust 2018 Rates Decrease 8.8 Percent!
The CCAP UC Trustees met on October 13 and set rates for 2018. Due to the strong financial position of the Trust, and very good claims experience of the members, the Trustees adopted the actuary's recommendation to reduce rates 8.8 percent. This will save members a total of $723,847 compared to last year's rates. The range of rates charged to the members will remain the same as prior years: the minimum rate is .50 percent of base payroll, and the maximum is 6.50 percent.
Please note for 2018 the state taxable wage base will raise to $10,000 from $9,750.
Each member's rates will vary depending on their claims experience. All members received an email notification of their 2018 rate in mid-October.
In addition, the UC Trustees took action to replace Equifax as the claims administrator for the UC Trust. We are currently working on this transition, and much more information about the new company, timing of this change, and the process to notify L&I of the change will be provided to the Trust members soon.
The UC Trust covers unemployment compensation claims costs for 42 counties and four county related entities, and also provides representation at hearings, an Employee Assistance Program through Mazzitti & Sullivan, and numerous employment related risk management trainings.
If you have any questions about the UC Trust or the rates for 2018, please contact
Desiree Nguyen
at CCAP.
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A List We Would Rather Not Be On!
According to a recent study, Colorado, New York, Arizona, and Pennsylvania are home to the worst drivers in the U.S. Nationwide Insurance analyzed data from its SmartRide telematics program and found those states have the highest frequency of drivers who speed up suddenly. By contract, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and West Virginia drivers demonstrate the lowest frequencies of slamming on the brakes - a known factor in reported car accidents.
The same report noted that during the week, Thursday was the day drivers are the most aggressive. Slamming on the brakes happens most frequently during the morning commute. On the weekend, Sunday is when bad driving habits peak.
Source: Independent Agent Magazine, October 2017.
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Hot Topics
Bond/Crime Coverage for Elected Officials
With the general election you may have some new row officers, and one of their questions will likely be about the County Code requirements for them to have a bond.
If you are a PCoRP member, your elected officials do not need a separate public officials bond, because the PCoRP Coverage Document includes crime coverage for all county elected officials, and the County Code allows crime coverage as an option instead of a bond. If you need a copy of the PCoRP certificate showing that coverage (some elected officials want that for their swearing in), please contact
Tona Faust
at CCAP.
For more information, contact Karen Cohen at CCAP.
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| Fall 2017 Workshops
Even though November is the end of the fall workshop season we still have several great opportunities remaining. Here is a list:
If interested in attending any of the training sessions please
register online
.
As a reminder, most of the workshops are FREE to attend if your county is a member of the sponsoring Insurance Programs. To check if your county's membership, please refer to the
CCAP Insurance Programs Member Listing
.
The CCAP Insurance Programs continues to collaborate with the
Academy for Excellence in County Government.
Please refer to our website for additional information on co-sponsored events. These workshops are FREE to current Academy participants.
We will soon be planning for the spring 2018 workshop season. If you happen to have any suggestions for training sessions or any questions pertaining to our trainings, please feel free to contact
Linda Rosito
at (800) 895-9039 x 3328.
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UC Trust Board of Trustees - The Nominations are In!
By: Desiree Nguyen, Deputy Director, Insurance Pool Operations
The nomination process for the UC Trust Board of Trustees was completed in October. We received three nominations, and since there were no contested seats, incumbents Ed DiMattio, Erie County Council Member, Ron Williams, Wyoming County Commissioner, and Chuck Witmer, Centre County Controller were declared elected for another two-year term. Thank you to the membership for your nominations and to the UC Trust Board of Trustees for their ongoing service and dedication to the board.
A totally self-insured program, the Trust currently provides unemployment compensation insurance for more than forty counties and county related entities, covering a total of more than 26,000 employees. Members receive a full service package, including processing of all unemployment claims filed against the county, auditing of all unemployment charges, quarterly claims statements, training workshops, onsite training and use of the Employee Assistance Program with Mazzitti & Sullivan EAP. For more information about the UC Trust, contact
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Health Alliance Board of Directors - The Nominations are In!
By: Desiree Nguyen, Deputy Director, Insurance Pool Operations
The nomination process for the Health Alliance Board of Directors was completed in October. We received three nominations, and since there were no contested seats, incumbents Trisha Douglas, Clarion County's HR Director, Basil Huffman, Forest County's Commissioner and Janis Kemmer, Elk County's Commissioner, were declared elected for another two year term. Thank you to the membership for your nominations and to the Health Alliance Board of Directors for their ongoing service and dedication to the board.
The CCAP Health Alliance offer a complete range of medical plans (HMO, QPOS, PPO and Indemnity), fully customized to meet the needs and interests of the individual member. Participants design their own benefit plan and coverage parameters. The CCAP Health Alliance offers guaranteed rates for the remainder of the calendar year, with no end-of-the-year adjustment.
For more information about the Health Alliance, contact Desiree Nguyen at CCAP.
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PIMCC Board of Directors - The Nominations are In!
By: Desiree Nguyen, Deputy Director, Insurance Pool Operations
The nomination process for the PIMCC Board of Directors was completed in October. We received five nominations, and since there were no contested seats, incumbents Dominick DeRose, Dauphin County Director of Community Corrections, Greg Gebauer, Elk County Warden, Bruce Herdman, Philadelphia Prison System Chief of Medical Operations, Jeff Hornberger, Clarion County Warden and Michelle Shedden, Bradford County Chief Clerk were declared elected for another two year term. Thank you to the membership for your nominations and to the PIMCC Board of Directors for their ongoing service and dedication to the board.
PIMCC is CCAP's Prison Inmate Medical Cost Containment program which is a medical cost management and educational program dedicated to assisting county prisons/jails with the containment of all costs relating to prison inmate medical expenses. For more information about the PIMCC program, contact Desiree Nguyen at CCAP.
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2018 CCAP Center for Excellence in County Leadership
Strong leadership is essential to county success and future growth. The CEL Program offers county commissioners or council members, chief clerks, county administrators and solicitors in Pennsylvania's 67 counties the opportunity to be immersed in an intensive leadership curriculum which will enhance personal and professional growth. The program features curriculum including managerial versatility, interpersonal dynamics, crisis communication, media management, problem solving, decision making and more.
The two and a half-day intensive program will be held at the CCAP office in Harrisburg on June 13 - 15, 2018. We invite you to explore this exciting educational opportunity offered exclusively by the
County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP).
Participation is available to one eligible person per county per year, with a maximum of 16 participants per year. Application is required by January 15, 2018 to be considered for participation in the June 2018 session.
We invite you to be involved in this exciting program!
Please feel free to contact CCAP directly with questions.
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Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) Policy
Many industries are required by law to check the past record of their drivers. While most county operations are not required to perform this review, a formal Motor vehicle reports (MVR) policy is a valuable Risk Management tool for determining acceptable driver performance and controlling vehicle losses.
In addition, if a county vehicle is involved in an accident and the driver has a poor record, legal defense becomes difficult, no matter who is actually at fault, and the resulting publicity may reflect poorly upon the county.
Every employee who drives a county or employee owned vehicle in the course of their duties, should maintain a satisfactory motor vehicle record (MVR).
The employee must notify their superior of any of the following changes in their status:
- Suspended or revoked license
- Change from Acceptable status to Borderline or Poor (see example below
- Change from Borderline to Poor
The standards for MVR's should be as follows:
- All operators must be at least 18 years of age and have a current valid driver's license.
- No employee should be added to the driver's list with a "Borderline" or "Poor" MVR graded by the table below.
- Any driver falling into the "Borderline" category must have their driving record evaluated by a board set up for such reviews.
- No one whose MVR grading is "Poor" may drive a department vehicle
Number of At-Fault Accidents (Last 3 Years)
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Number of Violations
(Last 3 Years)
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0
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1
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2
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3
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0
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Clear
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Acceptable
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Borderline
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Poor
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1
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Acceptable
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Acceptable
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Borderline
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Poor
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2
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Acceptable
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Borderline
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Poor
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Poor
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3
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Borderline
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Poor
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Poor
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Poor
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4
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Poor
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Poor
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Poor
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Poor
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Any Major Violation
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Poor
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Poor
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Poor
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Poor
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Major Violations:
- Driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs
- Failure to stop/report an accident
- Reckless driving/speeding contest
- Driving while impaired
- Homicide, manslaughter or assault arising out the use of a vehicle
- Making a false accident report
- Driving with a suspended/revoked license
- Attempting to elude a police officer
Minor Violations: Any moving violation other than a major violation including:
- Speeding
- Failure to obey a traffic control device
- Driving with a suspended/revoked registration
- Driving an unregistered vehicle
Since a breach of this policy could place employees and other motorists in danger, any violation of these procedures should be subject to county action which could result in temporary or permanent loss of vehicle driving privileges, suspension, or termination.
Of course, this is only a guideline and may not meet all county needs. The policy should be customized based on additional county exposures i.e. passenger vans, buses, CDL requirements, etc.
For more information, contact the CCAP Risk Control Department at
(800) 895-9039; or email us at:
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New Associate Members
Northwoods Consulting Partners
Consulting, Technology
Northwoods' only focus is helping state and county human services agencies increase client service levels and productivity while cutting costs - allowing them to do more with less. By providing all the right tools in the office and the field, Northwoods' solutions eliminate duplicative work and reduce stress. Time-consuming tasks are automated, helping social workers have more time to accomplish their mission: protecting families.
Pro Tech Auto Glass
Other
Mobile auto, truck and bus glass replacement and heavy equipment glass fabricating - WBEC Certified, PA Department of General Services Certificated, Business Partner 011309 DBE PA Certification.
The Panto Group, LLC
Human Services, Technology
Panto Group (TPG) provides strategic business analysis and project management with broad experience in HealthChoices Medicaid managed care and county human services programs. TPG offers expertise in county administrative operations, healthcare technology solutions, systems implementation, and human resource organizational change. We also provide professional consulting services to healthcare providers and managed care organizations. TPG is the right choice to simplify your complex world.
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Upcoming Events
2017 CCAP Fall Conference
November 19 - 21, 2017
The Hotel Hershey, Hershey
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Quote of the Month
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work
."
- Thomas A. Edison
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