YOUNGSTOWN Ohio company to handle city's workers' comp issues

The city's 2003 workers' compensation premium could reach $3.8 million.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city has hired what it calls the top firm in Ohio to handle its workers' compensation issues.
CompManagement Inc. of Dublin will devote five or six workers to the city's issues, said Law Director John McNally IV. The contract is for $82,000 a year.
The work includes reviewing workers' compensation claims and giving advice; representing the city at hearings; and suggesting safety measures to reduce injuries.
CompManagement's staff should be able to more closely monitor and manage claims against the city, McNally said. He also expects CompManagement will review all active claims and settle some of them, which should save some money.
The city's workers' compensation consultant now, Atty. John Ausnehmer, is retiring. His month-to-month contract totaled about $75,000 a year, McNally said.
The city had the consultant, a risk manager who recently took a buyout, and a lawyer on staff who all worked on compensation issues.
But the topic is becoming more than the law department can handle, however, McNally said.
"Risk management is pretty much a full-time operation," he said.
Making the choice
The city selected CompManagement after reviewing proposals from 10 companies. Mayor George M. McKelvey said he received better references about CompManagement than of any company he has ever checked.
CompManagement handles compensation claims for Ohio cities including Cincinnati, Toledo and Canton. Locally, the company handles Youngstown State University and Mill Creek Park.
The city's workers' compensation premium for 2002 was about $3 million. The city paid nothing, however, after a 75-percent rebate and a bonus check that covered the rest.
The city was expecting a $3.5 million bill for 2003. McKelvey said the state has indicated in recent days that the 2003 premium now may increase to about $3.8 million.
He referred to the 2003 workers' compensation premium as "costs that I don't have the money to pay" after considering a projected $2.2 million year-end deficit and higher health care and wages next year.
The city's workers' compensation costs have been going down over the years but remain too high, McKelvey said.
Youngstown pays about twice what an average city pays in workers' compensation.
Larger cities pay more than average, largely because of their fire and police departments, he said. More officers and firefighters mean more injuries and claims. The jobs are inherently dangerous and managing those risks is difficult, he said.
The city has taken steps to cuts compensation costs the past few years, he said. They include: more safety training for workers; refining the light duty policy to get workers back on the job; reducing temporary benefits by continuing wages in some circumstances for injured workers; and challenging what the city considers the award of unwarranted benefits.
Nonetheless, the city can do better and expects that hiring CompManagement will cut costs, McKelvey said.
rgsmith@vindy.com