Looking for a Way to Save the County Money?

ACCG’s Insurance Programs Offers Safety Discounts

When workplace safety is encouraged by county leaders and practiced in day-to-day operations, it can be a win-win for the county and its employees. According to David Uhlman, ACCG’s Property & Casualty Insurance Programs Director, "If our members are committed to running a safe operation, it is likely that they will have fewer and less severe claims." As a way of encouraging safety, the ACCG Insurance Programs offer a significant premium discount for those members who elect to participate.

In 2015, 133 of the 167 ACCG – Group Self-Insurance Workers’ Compensation Fund members qualified for the discount, collectively saving approximately $2.9 million in premium. In the latest renewal of the ACCG Property & Liability program, 91 out of 106 eligible members qualified for the discount, saving over $435,000 in premium. Not only did these members see a reduction in their premium, they should see a reduction in their losses due to their efforts, which decreases the payouts within their deductibles as well as future premium costs. Most importantly, they are taking better care of their most valuable resources – their employees and constituents.

If your organization is not currently receiving a safety discount or wants to maintain its safety discount, ACCG encourages you to review the specific standards outlined in the 2016 ACCG Safety Discount Program booklet which will be sent to each member in February. Your county can take advantage of this incentive program and save money on its future premiums. The deadline for your submission is September 15, 2015.

To qualify for the safety discount, a member must agree to implement and maintain a basic safety program. The first step is to appoint a safety coordinator. (Except in the largest of counties, this is not a full-time position. To be most effective, this should be an employee who has an interest in safety and has a good rapport with county leaders and co-workers.) This person will attend professionally-administered training, hold safety meetings within the county, and review employee accidents to determine how to prevent or minimize the effects of a similar occurrence. They will make certain that appropriate documents are posted at or near jobsites that instruct injured employees how they should proceed in the event of an on-the-job accident. The coordinator will oversee the drug-free workplace policy and work with a loss control representative from Local Government Risk Management Services (LGRMS), a safety and loss control resource provided to ACCG Insurance Program members at no additional charge. Check out the booklet for more information. It will also be online at http://www.accginsurance.com.

If you would like additional details, please contact your LGRMS Field Representative or ACCG Deputy Director of Insurance Programs Ashley Abercrombie at 404-589-7828.

Georgia County Internship Program Spotlight

During the summer of 2014, Middle Georgia State College criminal justice majors Mark Apple and Alisa Ryan interned with the Public Defender’s Office in the Macon Judicial Circuit, located in Macon-Bibb County. Apple and Ryan were tasked with reviewing cases, observing court proceedings, writing case reports for the attorneys and serving as a "mock jury" to assist with trial preparation.

When asked about their most significant successes during the internship, Ryan credited her greater understanding of how public defenders prepare cases and witnessing their level of compassion as they interact with clients as the primary success. Apple claimed that applying what he had learned in class to the day-to-day operations of the criminal justice system and how the system works from the time of arrest to the sentencing phase as his greatest success.

Both Ryan and Apple attributed learning how the system actually worked as their favorite part of the internship. This opportunity provided Ryan with a greater appreciation of the adversarial nature of the system, which will be helpful as she pursues a career as a prosecutor. Apple enjoyed the opportunity to work with great people, breakdown case files and watch the various stages of court proceedings.

Ryan stated the biggest take away from this experience for her is learning the importance of detail, consistency, and clarity in regards to law enforcement reporting during every step of the criminal processing of a defendant. Apple believes this internship has better prepared him to know what to expect when he begins his career due to the exposure to the criminal justice system that he received and the people skills he developed.

Both students plan to pursue a career in criminal justice and felt that the internship not only allowed them to learn from a practical perspective how the legal system actually worked, but has also prepared them for a career in this field.

For more information on the GCIP, please visit the ACCG Civic Affairs Foundation website at http://www.civicaffairs.org