Let me start over again here Folks. Here's the deal. The County Executive, (not the County Council) has made a corporate decision to dump ALL of the life insurance policies as he feels there is enough money vested into what is called a "Death Benefit Sinking Fund". This fund was designed whereas the County payed into one particular policy for ALL County Employees and it has built up equity over time.
Mind you, it's important for each and every taxpayer and employee to understand that this fund may or may not truly have enough money in it, we just don't know yet. However, let's say Mr. Pollitt thinks it does. Should the County Executive be making that decision to make such a high risk move as he has and drop an insurance policy that secures the taxpayers for around $15.00 a month per employee?
Clearly, (from those of whom I've spoken to) the County Council was completely unaware of any of this coming about. My personal issue with it is this. Let's say this year, (God Forbid) 10 people were to die who are employed and vested with Wicomico County. The County has around 800 employees. That "Death Benefit Sinking Fund" would now be tapped for let's say $500,000.00. Rick, just how much money is in that account?
Now, let's take, (for example) a plane were to hit the GOB, (our own Twin Towers). Would we all be covered Rick? My point is, crazier things have happened, right. That's what we have insurance for. You pay a very tiny amount to make sure you don't have to pay out of pocket in such disasters. The law requires we carry auto insurance on our vehicles for a reason. Its a small price to pay for something so major.
I find it extremely bold and insensitive that Rick Pollitt and Mr. Thompson failed to deliver enough details as to their intentions. Taxpayers are now at risk to pay for anything above and beyond what is stored in that account.
To some, many might think, well, the money is there, we can afford it. The problem is, yeah, for now. However, once that account runs dry, life insurance will not be provided by the County and those who currently enjoy such a benefit will then have to reach into their pocket and pay for it. Then there's the fact that even if there's a decent amount of money in that account collecting interest, there's no way it will keep up with the payouts. Not even close.
Now one of the original things I had been told was that the "Death Benefit Sinking Fund" only paid out if you died on the job. This is not true. As long as you're vested in the County your beneficiary will receive one years salary. Again, how long this will last is any one's guess.
For the $15.00 a month, a County Employee can be secured that if a major disaster were to occur, their families will be taken care of. Under this new proposal, (without the County Council's knowledge) either families could be forced to do without OR the taxpayers may be forced to pay a disaster relief bill no one properly planned for.
In our own homes we would NOT make such a decision and that's how I personally rate a politician. I want them to think like I do, don't we all. We have insurance to cover such losses, even if we're loaded with money. The funny part, (to me) is that it's NOT Rick Pollitt putting out the money for this insurance, its YOU! Sorry Folks, the whole thing stinks.
Getting back to my original article earlier today. The reduction/savings or expense, depending how you want to look at it, (so I'm told) is about $73,000.00. How much does Mr. Fineran make a year? Again, that's about $15.00 a year per employee. Stick with the insurance policy Rick. We would in our own households.
Might I also suggest you consult the County Council before you make such a move as well. I highly doubt many taxpayers would make such a move and or agree with this. I'll close by saying, there are other ways to cut expenses without creating such high risks on the taxpayers. I know you're all about wanting to provide quality service but this is just ridiculous.
Stay healthy and exercise a LOT Folks. You may need it a whole lot more than you think. Oh, you may want to pay out of pocket for that term insurance. Your beneficiaries are at a much higher risk right now of getting anything at all.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
23 comments:
Furloughs, Layoffs, now they are making us pay for the life insurance. Seems all this started when we went with a county exec. In all my time with the County I have never seen this before. Not everyone in the County makes 50,000 or 60,000k a year, and it was hard enough to make it on a budget with the first set of cuts. Now we are getting more furloughs and have to pay for insurance...its not right. Now I'm grateful to have a job don't get me wrong, but I was already making twice as less than other areas and now I'm making less than that with the same amount of work output expected. Something has got to give. It isn't fair to the employees. I would love to see the people making these decisions take a pay cut themselves. When the question to cut someone's job is laid on the table, how about our fearless leaders stepping to the plate and say that I will take a pay cut for the time being to save this person's job. As soon as I find another job I'm out of here...to think that job security is a thing of the past as it pertains to Government is saddening to say the least.
A worried employee,
anonymous 9:30, you're missing the point here, allow me to explain a little more. You still have life insurance. Rather than going through a life insurance company, the county has chosen to SELF INSURE their employees.
Now, this is extremely risky. The County cannot have enough funds that would collect enough interest to self sustain such payouts, period. Once that money is gone, THEN you'll be out of insurance and on your own.
Government is very good at these kind of things. You may not think at the moment it's such a bad thing but when that money dries up, (and it will) all of a sudden every one will be screaming, WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!
10 years from now the new Council will say, well, that happened a long time ago and it's out of our control.
With all due respect, IF Pollitt had made proper cuts three years ago this would have never happened. Believe me, this will not be the only thing that will be cut. The more he goes on with his 800 employees on staff, the purchase of new parking lots and park land, expenses are up and income is way down!
I personally believe this is a very high risk proposal but it's not really on you the employee. It's more of a risk on the taxpayers. Give it time, you'll see. I'd still like to know how this decision was made without the Council knowing about it first. They're legislators, (or used to be) and there should have been a legislative vote on this.
get rid of ted shea and matt creamer
Not to long ago one county department lost a very dedicated employee who helped everyone cross the river and was highly thought of by the public, the employee was in the lower salary range and could not afford life insurance on his own, when this employee passed all the family wanted to do was make sure he had a decent burial as he had worked hard all his life. The employee was still employeed when he passed and eligible for the life insurance thru the county. This one thing meant so much to the family and without it I don't know what they would have done. It's awful that Rick has taken this security away from families of county workers.Employees don't forget this come November.
anonymous 10:16, you're missing it too. County Employees will still have life insurance. For how long, that's debateable.
Joe,
This is politics as usual. The county employees were told, "this is a business." "Get with the program" "If you don't, you'll find yourself out there trying to look in."
What else can a county employee say or do if they want to keep their jobs. No third party arbitary is representing county employees. These crooked politicians can do what they want. The new budget effective july 1st has proven that fact. What can a county employees do before the election? Absolutely nothing. Just pray and hope you don't get layed off. We are at loose end.
The work place is unsafe. The super's are multi-tasking jobs for one person with less pay and more hours. Maybe we can use our furlough days to get a break from the over work with lesser than less pay mentality and stay alive until we retire, get fired or just quit. Getting fired and guitting is what they love. They don't want to pay your retirement. Maybe, they will figure out a way to stop payng retirement. Politics as usual. They don't care.
There's a new generation of young and attractive people waiting in the winds to take our places. They will work cheaper than our lesser than less pay.
Woe, Woe, Woe to the citizens of Wicomico County. Your childrens future is at hand. This entire ordeal with ricky, the PIO and the county counsel is politics as usual. Wicomico County does not need a County Executive position. Things were much better for Wicomico County before the executive position. Come election, vote for your life and for the lives of your childrens.
Come election. I will not vote for Ricky. He has shown, he does not give a dan about the citizens and employees of this county. It's politics as usual with him and his cronies.
Joe, your math is as bad as McCain's. If the insurance costs $15 per month per employee and there are 800 employees, you are talking about a savings of $144,000. $15 x 800employess x 12 months in a year. Everybody is hollering for cuts, so why not one that affects ALL county employees and not just a few. Sounds fair to me. I pay for my own insurance, by the way. It's all about priorities and who you rely on to protect your family. I say step up and stop expecting the taxpayers to provide personal life insurance. Cut some more, Big Rick- good job!
Joe-the accrual in this account is way underfunded just as the pension fund is. Should there be some type of epidemic or catastrophy, the county would not be a to support it. It is all a secret because if Council were to be informed, they would want hard numbers and Thompson doesn't want open that can of worms. Thompson is a Planning and Zoning person, he knows little about accounting and Human Resources. But the biggest problem came when Petersen passed the buck by transferring the payroll department into the hands of the Human Resources department. Any good accountant knows that Balance Sheet accounts should be analyzed and checked for reasonableness, and if funds are not accrued and are not meeting potential requirements, then adjustments need to be made to get things in line with reality. The Finance department is no longer responsible for the reconciliation of these accounts, Human Resources is. The reality is the County has an aging population and 60% of the population falls into the catagory of potential health problems that could cause death. Also, with the increase in crimes, the sheriff's department is in a high risk catagory of having more than a few officer's potentially taken down in a close period of time. You have people controlling the wheel at the county that have little clue of how things should be analyzed. That is what you get when you hire lifetime government workers, employees with no clue of how things work in a real environment. The shift has occurred now in which government cannot continue operating as it has in the past. It took a long time to get here, but when you keep milking the same cow but the corn and soybeans have dried up, so does the milk. If the current administration continues to handle things, it is a matter of time and Wicomico County will be a full fledged Titanic. Get these people out of office and get people in control who know how things are supposed to be. It is a dirty mess, but somebody's got to do it.
1016-Kiss you hubby for us.
If the counties HR department actually did something. There wouldn't be confusion like this. They are overpaid and worthless. All they do is forward emails. They are not working in the employees interests, and their director got his degree at Good Ole Boy University. (He used to be Shea's assistant) If the county wanted to save some money, they could start with this department.
This is another OweMalley like move. Just like the Rainy Day Fund that Owe Malley drained dry, Pollitt and the spendocrats will suck the last penny out of this insurance pool. What protections are in place to assure the public that this money can not and will not be used for anything other than death benefits? Rick Pollitt is a bureaucrat not an insurance broker. The county should not be in the business of insuring itself or its employees. Keep an eye on this pool of money folks, they'll find a way to use it to buy another parking lot or make repairs to the million dollar parking lot at the old mall.
NOVEMEBER IS COMING!
Is this why they fired the internal auditor? Did she find things Big Rick didn't want the public to know?
GET RID OF RICK!
Many corporations and businesses
are in fact self insured not only in life insurance but also health benefits. I don't know if its the right decision for Wicomico County
but for my company the analysis for being self insured is overwhelming. Some law makers suggest one of the reason for health cost to stabilize. Our company still pays our premiums and invest in safe funs as many insurance companies do. We have been self insured since 1992 and to my knowledge have yet to see a payout problem.
anonymous 7:14, here's the problem though. Once you start pulling money out of this account, where's the new REPLACEMENT money going to come from!
IMHO, it's dangerous. It will work for the moment but in a short period of time the account will have nothing left and no new money funding it.
NOW, if the County came back and said we're committed to putting $150,000.00 a year into this account, that's a whole different story. Nothing of the sort mentioned in the DT's today about anything like that happening. Think about it.
Time will tell all....
Joe, I agree with you assessment just stating its working for us.
In the early 90's we had 21,000 employees and were self insured. The local business here was sold which has approximately 150 employees to a corporation with just over 3,000 employees. We are still self insured both in life insurance and health care. The accounts are audited and at this point very healthy. In addition, we have incentives to live safe and to eat healthy. May not be for everyone.
November just cannot get here soon enough. Enough of Rick Pollitt already and folks exercise your right and VOTE in November.
Now you know why he was called "Slick Rick" when he worked for Fruitland.
If the Council was ignorant about this scam until now, that is no longer so, but what are they going to do about it?
O.K. Council, what are you going to do about it? Tell us, we want to know.
It is very painful when you see the writing on the wall and noone believes you.
Enquiring minds want to know.
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