The Porter County
Board of Commissioners held a virtual meeting yesterday morning where the
Commissioners voted to switch insurance carriers for property, casualty, and
cyber risk insurance for a savings of approximately $140,000.
The switch from
Traveler’s to Liberty Mutual represents a savings of about $140,000 even
with very little difference in coverage and additional cybersecurity
coverage, according to County Attorney Scott McClure.
The Traveler’s
premium for 2020 was $948,358, and would have renewed at $1,051,525 if the
County stayed with the company, McClure said. When General Insurance
Services, the County’s insurance consultant, looked for better prices, they
came up with a quote of $895,088 from Liberty Mutual.
The Board voted to
switch to Liberty Mutual with an additional $12,449 option to increase the
County’s Cyber Risk coverage to $3 million.
Polling Places
The Board approved
the list of polling places proposed by County Clerk Jessica Bailey for the
June 2 Indiana primary election.
Bailey said at the
most recent Election Board meeting that she and her staff are preparing for
both in-person voting with social distancing and a potential switch to
mail-in-only voting due to COVID-19. The Elections Office has been sharing
vote-by-mail information across its social media platforms and partnered
with the Auditor’s Office recently to include instructions on how to vote by
mail with 2020 property tax bills.
Per an executive
order by Governor Eric Holcomb, all Indiana citizens will be able to request
absentee ballots to vote by mail in the June 2 primary due to COVID-19.
Commissioner Laura
Blaney (D-South) said she already requested her mail-in ballot and the
process of getting it took less than a week.
Thanks, EMA
The Commissioners
took a moment to thank the Emergency Management Agency and all who volunteer
at EMA. Commissioner Jeff Good (R-Center) said many people don’t know EMA
has volunteers who step up in times of crisis, and Blaney said EMA Director
Lance Bella has done a great job handling interagency communication amidst
the pandemic response.
In other EMA
business, the Board extended the emergency declaration for erosion at the
Lake Michigan Shoreline in north Porter County. McClure said Bella asked
that the Board extend the declaration as the erosion situation persists.
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