The Carroll County Board of Supervisors recently became aware of an issue with double coverage of first responders for Workers Compensation. Rich Ruggles says he had spent some time in the past week trying to get to the root of the issue.
Ruggles says the he and Mike Schwabe, Breda’s mayor and a member of the Carroll County Ambulance Service Board, met with the city’s insurance agent, Larry Boeckman of Lenz Insurance, and Terry Axman of Mid Iowa Insurance, who is the agent for the county’s coverage. The agents and a representative from the Iowa Municipal Workers Compensation Association (IMWCA) have responded with the same conclusion, that whoever has the payroll is responsible, not the party that instructs.
Ruggles says the City of Breda is uncomfortable moving forward because they have been instructed not to pay. He told the other supervisors it may be as simple as entering into an agreement with all of the cities in the county. However, he cautions, in all things they need to ensure that each city and each entity is treated equally. Auditor, Kourtney Irlbeck says the county is paying for coverage based on a flat $300 wage calculation since the responders in these communities are volunteers. The larger concern is that they are being covered under policies issued to the cities and then again under another policy from the county. Supervisor Neil Bock suggested a letter to the cities.
The entire group agreed that this needs to be addressed and a letter is a good idea, but they want to solicit advice from Carroll County Attorney, John Werden, before continuing. The issue was tabled for the time being.
