Date: Fri 12-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

insurance-council-

Full Text:

Town Insurance Costs Lower Than Expected

The town will save more than $150,000 on property insurance premiums in this

budget year because of a lower than expected bid.

In a letter to Legislative Council Chairman Joseph Mahoney, Finance Director

Benjamin Spragg said about two-thirds of the savings will be in the town

budget and about one-third in the school budget.

The money appropriated in the selectman's budget for the insurance premiums

probably will remain in the insurance account until the end of the fiscal year

when it will become part of the undesignated fund balance (audited surplus),

Mr Spragg said. This audited surplus would be available to offset taxes in the

1998-99 budget.

The Legislative Council also could vote to transfer the money from the

insurance account this year if it is needed for an emergency expenditure.

Board of Education Chairman Herb Rosenthal said he was pleased that there will

be a savings in at least one account since others probably will be short.

"We began making up the budget more than 12 months ago so we realize that some

accounts will wind up over and hope that some will be under," he said. "We

also had to trim $250,000 from our budget (as directed by the Legislative

Council) so perhaps we may be able to restore some of those items."

Mr Spragg said the Seattle Agency will continue to be the town's insurance

agent. The town will be covered by CIGNA for workers' compensation and by the

TransAmerica Insurance Group (TIG) for all other policies.