Public Risk March/April 2020

PUBLISHED BY THE PUBLIC RISK MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION MARCH/APRIL 2020

PAGE 6

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

POOLING KPIs FOR NEW BOARD TALENT PAGE 10

PREVENTING EMERGENCY VEHICLE CRASHES THROUGH A SAFETY-MINDED CULTURE PAGE 15

WITH SO MUCH AT STAKE, YOU NEED TO KNOW

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MARCH/APRIL 2020 | Volume 36, No. 2 | www.primacentral.org

CONTENTS

The Public Risk Management Association promotes effective risk management in the public interest as an essential component of public administration.

PRESIDENT Scott J. Kramer, MBA, ARM County Administrator Autauga County Commission Prattville, AL PAST PRESIDENT Jani J. Jennings, ARM Risk Manager City of Bellevue Bellevue, NE PRESIDENT-ELECT Sheri D. Swain Director, Enterprise Risk Management Maricopa County Community College Tempe, AZ DIRECTORS Forestine W. Carroll Manager of Risk Management Memphis Housing Authority Memphis, TN

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The Vaping Epidemic and the Impact on Young Adults and the Public Sector

By Joann M. Robertson, CSP, CPSI, ARM, CPCU

Lori J. Gray, RMPE Risk Manager County of Prince William Woodbridge, VA JamiAnn N. Hannah, RMPE Risk Manager City of Gallatin Gallatin, TN Laurie T. Kemper Sr. Risk Management Consultant City/County Insurance Services Salem, OR Michael S. Payne, ARM, HEM Risk Manager City of Fresno Fresno, CA Melissa R. Steger, MBA, CRM Asst. Dir., WCI & Unemployment Ins. University of Texas System Austin, TX NON-VOTING DIRECTOR Jennifer Ackerman, CAE Chief Executive Officer Public Risk Management Association Alexandria, VA EDITOR Teal Griffey, MBA Manager of Marketing and Communications 703.253.1262 • tgriffey@primacentral.org ADVERTISING Teal Griffey, MBA 703.253.1262 • tgriffey@primacentral.org

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Pooling KPIs for New Board Talent

By Michelle Carter

IN EVERY ISSUE

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Preventing Emergency Vehicle Crashes through a Safety-Minded Culture

By Julie Frisbey

Public Risk is published 6 times per year by the Public Risk Management Association, 700 S. Washington St., #218, Alexandria, VA 22314 tel: 703.528.7701 • fax: 703.739.0200 email: info@primacentral.org • Web site: www.primacentral.org Opinions and ideas expressed are not necessarily representative of the policies of PRIMA. Subscription rate: $140 per year.

Back issue copies for members available for $7 each ($13 each for non-PRIMA members). All back issues are subject to availability. Apply to the editor for permission to reprint any part of the magazine.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PRIMA, 700 S. Washington St., #218, Alexandria, VA 22314.

Copyright 2020 Public Risk Management Association

| 4 NEWS BRIEFS | 19 ADVERTISER INDEX

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | PUBLIC RISK

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JUNE 14–17

#PRIMA2020 REGISTRATION OPEN NOW! conference.primacentral.org

ATTEND THE LEADING EVENT FOR PUBLIC RISK PROFESSIONALS

MESSAGE FROM PRIMA PRESIDENT SCOTT J. KRAMER, MBA, ARM

hether you are new to the risk management industry or a seasoned practitioner, your input is so valuable in moving the industry forward. Risk management has always been a diverse group of professionals with expertise in finance, human resources, or law. It continues to be an evolving discipline in attracting professionals in this industry. Having served on the board of directors for a few years, I have worked with risk management professionals working with cities, counties, pools, waterworks, and colleges. Each of these entities have different risk management needs, but we can all learn from each other.

While some entities’ focus may be on enterprise risk management, another entity could be more focused on loss control or claims management or employee benefits.

One thing all of us have in common is to sell the impact of good risk management to our leaders.

It is the responsibility of all risk managers to minimize the adverse effects of losses on our entities. While losses can come from different areas, the concepts are similar in all of our entities. In continuing to strive to be better, our industry must attract new talent, and our seasoned professionals must continue to share their experiences and knowledge.

Our industry is very fortunate to have PRIMA as an organization to help all of our practitioners grow in their respective fields.

There are many opportunities to get involved in refining your craft. PRIMA is continually looking for volunteers and committees, such as the education committee or the chapter relations and membership enhancement

“

For us to continue to have successful

conferences and risk management

programs, we need volunteers to continue to be a part of this great association.

“

W

Giving Back to the Risk Management Industry

Don’t hesitate to get involved in learning and growing in your profession!

committee. Also, PRIMA is always looking to recognize best practices in the area of risk management programs or risk management products and services.

There have been a lot of resources that have been put together for this year‘s upcoming annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

For us to continue to have successful conferences and risk management programs, we need volunteers to continue to be a part of this great association. Don’t hesitate to

get involved in learning and growing in your profession!

Sincerely,

Scott J. Kramer, MBA, ARM PRIMA President 2019–2020 County Administrator Autauga County Commission Prattville, AL

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | PUBLIC RISK

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NEWS BRIEFS

NEWS Briefs

CALIFORNIA’S 'SALAD BOWL' RECHARGES DEPLETED AQUIFER Carl Smith, Governing, 03/09/2020 A multi-partner water recycling project is helping Monterey, Calif., stabilize and replenish its dwindling groundwater supply. The project could serve as a model for shrinking aquifers in other regions of the country.

A newly opened water treatment plant in Monterey, Calif., will replenish a vital regional groundwater resource with recycled water at a rate of millions of gallons per day. On an annual basis, the Pure Water Monterey treatment plant will inject at least 3,500 acre feet of water, equivalent to more than a billion gallons, into the Seaside Basin.

For two decades, Monterey One Water, formerly the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency, has been recycling wastewater for irrigation in what’s called the “salad bowl of the world” where almost two-thirds of American leaf lettuce is grown. In addition to purifying wastewater, Pure Water is expanding to recycle agricultural drainage water, agricultural wash water and storm water runoff.

“That’s a paradigm shift in thinking about recycled water,” said Paul Sciuto, the general manager of Monterey One Water. “The reason it’s so important is that communities can look around and find underutilized or unutilized water resources around them and then bring them into a system that can capture their benefits. “To my knowledge, it’s the first potable reuse plant in the country that uses all these source waters,” he added.

The launch of the project, the first of its kind in Northern California, is the culmination of years of cooperation by an unusually broad group of regional stakeholders. Pure Water Monterey was developed jointly by Monterey

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One Water, and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD).

Collaborators include the city of Salinas, the Marina Coast Water District, the Monterey Regional Waste Management District, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, the city of Seaside, the Monterey County Water Resource Agency, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Monterey County Board of Supervisors.

“We really applaud inter-governmental cooperation to address these issues,” said Dennis Murphy, water director for Sustainable Silicon Valley, a nonprofit that brings tech companies, cities, counties, research and educational institutions together to solve sustainability problems.

“They’re bigger than any one utility or treatment plan. They’re watershed-wide.”

Treating Before Recharging Source water received by Monterey One Water goes through a four-step advanced treatment process before it is sent to recharge the aquifer.

The first is the addition of ozone, which is more effective against bacteria and viruses than chlorination. Ozone also helps reduce concentrations of minerals associated with odor and taste problems.

The next stages involve membrane filtration and then reverse osmosis, a technique that is also used to process water for use in dialysis and drug manufacturing. In the final step, hydrogen peroxide is added to the water in the presence of UV light, to address any remaining traces of pollutants.

The wastewater sources includes raw sewage.

Stanford researchers found that while most Californians approve of water recycling, only 11 percent would be willing to drink it. The great majority, more than three-fourths, would

be also unwilling to bathe in it or cook with it.

Reflecting these attitudes, some citizens raised concerns about the safety of what was being added to the water supply.

To help residents understand the process and assure them that the treated water is safe enough to be added to the drinking water supply, the utility created a demonstration facility.

“The beauty of what we've done by having that demonstration facility is that seeing is believing,” said Mike McCullough, Monterey One Water’s director of external affairs.

“We have the equipment on a much smaller scale and you can follow the water through the different processes,” he said. “At the end, you see what that water looks like after it goes through them, and we have water available if they’d like to try it. When you combine seeing the technology and discovering that what comes out is good-tasting water, it's a powerful story.”

Water Reuse Central to Supply Sustainable groundwater management will require more than reclaiming water that is being drawn out of aquifers, used, and then channeled out of the water supply. Even so, water recycling is likely to be essential for many jurisdictions.

“Water reuse has been thought of something almost on the side; nice to do, but just kind of experimental,” said Murphy. “But it’s very quickly becoming a central component of water supply.”

Pure Water Monterey is California’s newest exemplar of this trend and its potential. “I think this project can be replicated elsewhere and be a good model, frankly,” said Sciuto.

AFTER DEADLY CRASH, LAWSUIT SPOTLIGHTS PROBLEM OF PARKING NEAR INTERSECTIONS Bill Lucia, Route Fifty, 03/09/2020 When a vehicle is parked within a few feet of a corner at a city intersection, it can block the line of sight that drivers have to see one another, pedestrians and signs, raising the risk of crashes.

A lawsuit filed recently in an Oregon state court alleges that the city of Portland has failed to adhere to state law and other federal and local requirements that set guidelines for how close to an intersection drivers can safely park their vehicles.

The family of a man who died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash in the city last May filed the suit.

Elijah Coe was riding home from work in dry, daylight conditions, traveling on East Burnside Street, when he arrived at the intersection with 17th Avenue. Vehicles on two corners of East Burnside were parked roughly flush with intersection crosswalks, the lawsuit says.

Those parked vehicles, according to the lawsuit, prevented Coe and the driver of a Saab, who had stopped at a stop sign on 17th Avenue and then made a left turn, from seeing one another. Coe swerved to avoid that car, but hit another one head-on.

“Mr. Coe’s death,” the suit says, “could have been prevented if the City complied with the law.” It adds that, “the City’s failure to provide adequate sight distance at intersections endangers people regardless of what mode of transportation they are using.”

BikePortland.org, which covers cycling and transportation issues in the city and was the first to report on the lawsuit, noted that the advocacy group Oregon Walks had been campaigning for Portland to restrict parking near intersection corners.

Relatively high levels of pedestrian and cyclist deaths in the U.S. during recent years have drawn attention to a range of traffic safety issues. Between 2016 and 2018 a total of 123 people died in traffic crashes in Portland, 49 of them, or nearly 40 percent, were pedestrians.

The lawsuit says that last year alone at least 49 people in Portland died in crashes, including Coe, and that this total is higher than the traffic fatalities the city had in any other year since 1997.

IN A FIRST, SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL MOVES TO BAN WINTER EVICTIONS Emma Coleman, Route Fifty, 2/12/2020 Landlords in Seattle would no longer be allowed to evict low- and moderateincome renters during the winter under a measure approved by the city council this week. If the legislation becomes law, Seattle will be the first city in the country to ban evictions during certain months of the year.

The legislation argues that prohibiting evictions from December 1 to March 1 keeps people safe by reducing the number of people becoming homeless during the cold winter months. The legislation makes mention of a 2018 report called Losing Home, compiled by the King County Bar Association and the Seattle Women’s Commission. The report, which studied 1,218 eviction proceedings in 2017, found that women and people of color were disproportionately overrepresented.

The overwhelming majority of evictions—86.5%—were for nonpayment of rent.

Of those, 52.3% were for one month’s rent or less. Over half of those in eviction proceedings said that the loss of a job resulted in their inability to pay. Most people who were eventually evicted reported becoming homeless, with 37.5% completely unsheltered, 25% living in a homeless shelter or transitional housing and 25% staying with family or friends. Only 12.5% of evicted tenants found another place to live.

The measure in Seattle now heads to Mayor Jenny Durkan, who is evaluating the bill and has not yet made a decision about her position. “City Council and the mayor share the same goal: helping people facing evictions and keeping them in their homes, especially during the winter months,” Ernesto Apreza, a spokesperson for Durkan, said in a statement. “But the mayor has been advised a legal fight is almost certain and could be costly to taxpayers.”

Seattle is not the first locality to ban evictions out of fear for tenant safety, but it has gone further than others. Some jurisdictions, like Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland, ban evictions when the temperature drops below freezing, or if it is raining or snowing.

The bill faced opposition from housing industry groups like the Rental Housing Association of Washington. Kyle Woodring, director of government affairs for the RHAW, expressed disappointment with the council’s vote. “We would have liked to see the Council pass legislation that would build on the success of rental assistance programs to assist the small number of vulnerable residents who are at risk of eviction,” Woodring said. “Instead, we have another onerous law that doesn’t help solve our housing situation and makes it even harder to rent an affordable apartment in the City.”

The RHAW and other landlord advocacy groups said that the city would be better off investing in tenant protection funds that help families at imminent risk of eviction. In 2018, the Seattle Housing Levy, a tax that helps fund affordable housing and efforts to reduce homelessness, provided 553 families with an average of $1,686 to prevent evictions. A year after receiving those funds, 95% of those families were still housed.

It’s possible that Seattle’s proposed ban will now pit city officials against the state government. Legislation currently under consideration in the Washington state Senate would bar localities from instituting eviction bans like the one passed by the city council.

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JOANN M. ROBERTSON, CSP, CPSI, ARM, CPCU

M

Y FATHER SMOKED TRADITIONAL TOBACCO CIGARETTES AND OFTEN TRIED TO QUIT. Over the years, his attempts to stop smoking involved patches, mints/gum, various doctor’s orders, and sheer will power.

But tobacco was too addictive, and my dad continued his smoking habit even when he began to experience shortness of breath and constant bouts of coughing. Could today’s vaping products have helped my dad kick the tobacco habit? This is undetermined, because he passed away years ago from respiratory illness, before vaping became a daily news story.

The specific type of vaping we discuss in this article is vaping tobacco products through the use of e-cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery-powered devices that deliver nicotine, flavorings, and other ingredients to the user.

In 2009, the US FDA found that despite the sweet smell, e-cigarettes do not create harmless “water vapor”—they “contained detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals to which users could potentially be exposed.”

However, a 2013 study by the independent journal Tobacco Control, an international peer-review medical journal covering the nature and consequences of tobacco use worldwide, found that the harmful chemicals in e-cigarettes occurred at levels 9 to 450 times lower than in regular cigarette smoke.

Those who start vaping are generally sorted into two broad categories: 1. New users, mainly teens and young adults, who are attracted by the various “candylike” flavors 2. Former tobacco smokers who are hoping that the benefits of kicking their former tobacco habit with e-cigarettes will outweigh the risks of tobacco, although further research is still needed.

This article focuses on group 1—teens and young adults who started vaping. Those of us

who have never vaped at all or quit vaping will save money, be healthier, and hopefully be less involved with possible drug use in our lifetime.

Anyone who continues to vape will face a lifetime of unnecessary expense and undetermined potential health issues. However, we do not know if these problems are greater or less than similar issues connected to tobacco use in other forms, such as cigarettes.

In light of the new popularity with youth-based vaping, technology companies are working to combat this growing epidemic. These technology products may work in a school or other public space and usually coordinate together.

For example, when a student is vaping in the school bathroom with a vaping detection system, this system will notify designated staff members on their smartphone so they can respond quickly. When the student leaves the bathroom, the system can trigger the closedcircuit television (CCTV) to observe their next activity. Then the situation can be addressed promptly by staff with evidence.

The Founder and CEO of Soter Technologies, Derek Peterson, is dedicated to helping youth avoid the pitfalls that result from e-cigarettes, and preventing bullying. Peterson’s insights from the field of vaping detection technology will clarify how this crisis impacts

our public facilities, especially in problem locations, including bathrooms/locker rooms at schools, libraries, and teen centers. In the following interview, Derek Peterson provides insight on vaping and vaping technology in the public sector.

1. What made you focus in on vaping at your firm? » One of our vaping monitoring devices first started as a device that could detect bullying in bathrooms/ locker rooms through elevated sound abnormalities (measured in decibels).

We realized students were going into the bathrooms/locker rooms to vape, so my firm evolved our device to then detect vaping.

2. When did you first hear about our youth and vaping? » The first school approached us in 2016, which was way before anyone was thinking about this vaping issue 3. How rapid has the growth of your vaping detection business grown? » In three years, our company has grown from deploying 100 devices in just the United States, to now distributing over 7,000 devices throughout the U.S. and in 17 other countries.

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THE VAPING EPIDEMIC AND THE IMPACT ON YOUNG ADULTS AND THE PUBLIC SECTOR

4. Do you think that vaping by teens is a global problem? » Yes, it is a global problem. Youths and “influencers” are posting themselves vaping on social media. There are vaping concerns in many other countries.

5. What locations have you seen that are common locations for teens to vape? » Bathrooms and locker rooms 6. How do your devices detect vaping if you cannot install cameras in private areas such as bathrooms and locker rooms? » The firm created a “vaping signature,” which is the specific combination of the elements that make up the “vape smoke.”

Once the smoke hits the sensor, it will know the difference between “vape smoke” and other aerosols such as axe body spray, cigarette smoke, etc.

7. What is the most unusual place you have been asked to install vaping detection? » Unfortunately, we have been asked to install vape detectors in Teacher’s Lounges.

8. What do you think is the key fact that the public needs to understand about youth and vaping? » Understand that nicotine is a highly addictive chemical that can cause long-term harm to brain development and respiratory health in adolescents.

9. Do you think the youth in our country is starting to understand the dangers of vaping? » I do believe that some users are beginning to face tragedies of vaping and this is causing them to create change and push their peers and leaders to make healthier decisions.

10. Do you think vaping is finally slowing down or still increasing for the youth in our society? » Vaping is still increasing for youth, because it is such a tempting habit to begin. When teens are surrounded by siblings, parents, and classmates who are vaping it is hard to resist the urge to try it the first time.

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11. Explain how your firm’s vaping detection system also addresses bullying? » The device not only monitors air quality, but also is an overall environmental sensor that can detect sound anomalies, such as spikes above the normal decibel range, that may indicate signs of fighting.

Bullying and vaping in some cases are closely linked. Teens are faced with peer pressure to vape and may worry about the repercussions if they choose to decline the offer. Teens may feel uncomfortable using restrooms and struggle while deciding whether to report their peers who vape.

•

•

• •

• 12. What do you predict for the future of vaping and detection for the younger population? » Detection methodologies will get better, but we really need to see behavioral changes in order for teens to stop. Right now, teens think it is “cool” to vape. There will be an increase in the need to detect vaping since it may potentially be banned from indoor spaces other than schools.

13. What would you say to parents of pre-teens about vaping? » I would suggest that this needs to be an open discussion with your children.

Kids are curious at this age, the more transparent you can be with them, the more trust they will have in you. Simply saying “No, don’t do that” will not solve the problem.

USA VAPING TIMELINE • 2003 » Modern e-cigarettes patented by •

•

•

•

Chinese inventor Hon Lik 2014 » E-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. youth 2016 » Soter Technologies first approached by a US public school interested in vape detecting software 2017 and 2018 » E-cigarette use skyrocketed among youth, leading the U.S. Surgeon General to call the use of these products among youth an epidemic in the United States.

2018 » CDC and FDA data showed that more than 3.6 million U.S. youth, including 1 in 5 high school students and 1 in 20

middle school students, were past-month e-cigarette users.

Aug. 2019 » The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention announces that it is investigating more than 90 potential cases of severe lung illnesses associated with vaping.

Sept. 2019 » Vaping is on cover of TIME magazine and politicians begin regulating the sale of flavored e-cigarettes Fall 2019 » Anti-vaping advertisements begin airing on TV Nov. 2019 » The first reported case of a teen having a double-lung transplant due to vaping is reported Dec. 2019 » Instagram no longer allows influencers to endorse vaping and tobacco products

WHAT CAN YOUR ENTITY DO?

• Update “No Smoking” signs to also include “No Vaping or Use of E-cigarettes” • Update policies to prohibit vaping, or establish rules for vaping, such as all vaping must be conducted 20 feet or farther from any outside doors • Add information on vaping prevention to your entity’s website and calendars as a resource • Use information fact sheets or recommendations created by the CDC for vaping at www.cdc.gov/tobacco/ basic_information/e-cigarettes Joann Robertson CSP CPSI ARM CPCU has more than 30 years of experience in the field of public sector risk management and is a frequent contributor to Public Risk magazine.

RESOURCES • University of VA Health System, Teens & Vaping: What to Watch for and How to Talk with Your Kids: https://blog.uvahealth. com/2019/06/19/teens-vaping/ • Center for Disease Control, Outbreak of Lung Injury Associated with the Use of E-Cigarette, or Vaping, Products https://www.cdc.gov/ tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/ pdfs/OSH-E-Cigarettes-and-Youth-WhatParents-Need-to-Know-20190327-508.pdf • Derek Peterson, founder and CEO of Soter Technologies.

• Kerrin Kallman, Associate Marketing Manager of Soter Technologies

Create an Organizational Culture that Proactively Manages Risk

APRIL 1–2, 2020 WASHINGTON, DC AUGUST 4–5, 2020 AUSTIN, TX

ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT TRAINING VISIT PRIMACENTRAL.ORG/ERMTRAINING

BY MICHELLE CARTER

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F

ROM STAFF TO TOP POOL EXECUTIVES TO LONGTIME BOARD MEMBERS,

a generation of pooling talent is moving on. In many instances, novices are filling their shoes. New board members, especially, may never have been exposed to pooling,

risk management, or financial statements before. Yet they’ve become responsible for setting and monitoring the strategic and financial direction of pools.

There are plenty of resources available to help plan your pool’s transition and acquire talent at all levels. This article is designed to help you educate that new talent once it’s in place.

Specifically, it’s designed as an introduction to performance monitoring by way of key performance indicators, or KPIs. These indicators are discussed below by functional area (governance, membership, finance, etc.). The specific measures we present were chosen because of their broad utility and applicability, and because they’re likely to be understood by a brand new, possibly uneducated board member.

GOVERNANCE

Effective governance can sometimes be hard to gauge quantitatively, but it’s an important standard to establish and maintain with both new and seasoned board members. You might consider establishing threshold, full, and exceptional performance levels against which to measure each director and your board as a whole. Categories you could measure include: Director comprehension. To best serve your pool, directors should be well versed in the

basics, including your pool’s mission, vision, programs, financials, and membership. A clear understanding of insurance basics, policies and processes of the board, the current strategic plan, and fiduciary responsibility is also essential.

Board composition. Measure categories like overall board diversity; functional competencies of directors; duration of known vacancies and substantive gaps (whether related to diversity or functional competency); director retention; and number, structure, and composition of board committees.

Interpersonal effectiveness. Directors should clearly know and respect not only each other, but also the roles and responsibilities of directors-at-large, board officers, the executive director, and staff. Effective and highly functional meetings should be the norm.

Note: Regarding director comprehension and interpersonal effectiveness, you might say, “Sure, that’s important. But how do I measure it?” For some KPIs, there’s only one tool available, but it’s a powerful one: the survey. Directors can be

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POOLING KPIs FOR NEW BOARD TALENT

The possibilities are endless.

Membership KPIs fall into four broad categories: ➊ Renewal or retention rate ➋ New members ➌ Engagement ➍ Satisfaction surveyed about their own performance, participation, knowledge, and understanding. They can also be asked to assess the performance of the board generally and their fellow directors specifically, including any areas in need of improvement.

C-suite staff, too, can be asked to conduct a similar evaluation. Using anonymous and nonanonymous survey instruments as appropriate, and handling response data with a delicate, diplomatic touch should help spare any feelings.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership KPIs fall into four broad categories: who is staying, who is joining, how they are interacting, and how happy they are.

Renewal or retention rate. This is the percent of members who stay with the pool year over year. To accurately report this number, you must exclude from your count any new members added over the past year. That’s because you only want to account for those who have stayed with you, not those who have recently joined.

New members. This number is easy and straightforward, right? It’s just a simple count of how many members your pool has added over a specified time period (typically, a year). But keep in mind that if 98% of eligible members have already joined, your new member count probably isn’t going to be impressive to fresh directors. So, consider reporting on your market penetration rate over time instead or in addition.

Engagement. There are myriad ways to track overall member engagement. Pick the measures that will be most meaningful for your pool and illustrative for new directors. Potential metrics include, but are not limited to:

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Another commonly used option is what’s known as the Net Promoter Score (NPS). NPS questions take the form of, “How likely are you to recommend X to a colleague?”, where the X could be the pool generally, a specific pool program or service, etc. The response is given on a 0-10 scale, from “not at all likely” to “extremely likely.”

FINANCE • number and frequency of contacts (phone, email, in-person) with the pool; • number of service requests and members served; • loss control program utilization/attendance; • annual membership meeting attendance; • participation in satisfaction surveys; • online education usage; • website page views; • email open and click-through rates; • landing page conversion rate; and • social media interactions.

While engagement can be easy to quantify, its effectiveness can be tricky to assess. The American Society for Association Executives (ASAE) has excellent resources for helping organizations think about, manage, measure, and interpret membership engagement.

Satisfaction. You should be able to quantify how satisfied members are with their interactions with staff, with pool programs and services, with the overall performance of the pool—really, any area in which member opinion matters. A simple way to do this is with a Likert scale response option to specific areas of interest.

Typical Likert scales used in a survey include those below: • strongly agree • agree • neutral • disagree • strongly disagree • very satisfied • satisfied • neutral • dissatisfied • very dissatisfied

A pool must be financially viable to be successful. Here we offer three metrics that even the greenest board member—with little understanding of finance or pooling—could readily interpret.

Change in net position. An increase or decrease in your pool’s bottom line (assets liabilities) year-over-year. New directors can understand that an increase generally indicates a profitable year, and a decrease indicates an unprofitable one.

Combined ratio. This ratio can be rudimentarily understood as costs versus revenue. It is calculated by taking the sum of incurred losses and expenses and dividing by earned contributions, and then (typically) expressing the result as a percentage. A ratio above 100 percent may indicate that the pool is operating at a loss. (Dividends and premium holidays can artificially inflate a pool’s combined ratio, so be mindful of how these may impact your own pool’s results.)

Surplus level. Appropriate surplus levels vary from pool to pool, and the right amount will fluctuate over time at the same organization.

(Consult with your actuary to set the right target for your pool.) An easy general rule, though, is that a large surplus usually indicates a healthy pool. In contrast, a small or no surplus may indicate the need for some adjustments to ensure long-term viability.

CLAIMS

Two simple claims performance metrics for the newly initiated are loss ratio and overall claims costs.

Loss ratio. A measure of profitability calculated by taking the sum of incurred losses and

dividing by earned contributions, typically expressed as a percentage. Unlike the combined ratio, the loss ratio includes only claims incurred and no other expenses. Most pools establish a target or expected loss ratio that they strive to operate at or near.

Overall claims costs. This includes actual dollar amount paid, average time to settle (longer usually means more expensive), and administrative overhead.

LOSS CONTROL

Many membership engagement metrics can apply to loss control, as risk mitigation initiatives are one of the major ways pools interact with members. When measuring your loss control efforts, you and your board can also use the following basic measures.

Pre- and post- program claim severity. Let’s say you notice that lower back injuries for bus drivers are significantly driving workers’ comp claims losses. You subsequently decide to implement a new loss control program designed to prevent these types of injuries. One simple measure of program effectiveness is whether or not the severity of lower back injuries for bus drivers decreased over time in correlation with the program.

Pre- and post-program claim frequency.

Using the same example, you could track whether or not the rate of lower back injuries declined following the launch of your program.

If you’re going to use these measures, be sure to keep the post hoc fallacy in mind. In this instance, that’s just a fancy way of saying, “The fact that lower back injuries declined after program implementation doesn’t necessarily mean they declined because of the program.” How to deal with this possibility? Short of deploying expensive and complicated evaluation techniques, your best bet is to use your industry knowledge and relationships to try to rule out other causes of the change in your data. Additionally, you may want to consider whether your pool can improve its data analytic capabilities to produce more detailed, more sophisticated data and reporting. Pools with robust data analytics programs can often provide more

conclusive measures to track and report on loss control effectiveness.

UNDERWRITING

Those unfamiliar with underwriting are still likely to appreciate the concepts of efficiency, accuracy, and price competitiveness.

Efficiency. In traditional insurance, this metric is about how quickly an underwriter can turn a quote into a signed policy with the insured.

It’s measured in number of days. While you can certainly use this metric, you could also determine how to measure overall efficiency during your pool’s renewal season (typically either January 1 or July 1). Possible KPIs include renewals processed per day, or FTE hours required per policy renewed.

Accuracy. Inaccurate underwriting can be costly to your pool and impact member relationships. Your loss ratio and cost per claim can be used to convey underwriting accuracy to your board—if policies are being written at the correct threshold (and there are no thousandyear events), losses and claims should be as expected.

Competitiveness. It’s true that pools generally enjoy strong member loyalty. But sometimes, even loyalty can’t overcome a low price tag from a competitor. Recognizing this, you should consistently be evaluating your pool’s rates in comparison with the market. (Reporting on competitiveness gives you a great opportunity to discuss your pool’s value, versus plain old cost.

It may very well be that your board prioritizes upholding pooling’s ideals over offering the lowest market rate.)

HUMAN RESOURCES

Staffing is a vital resource for effective operations. It’s the job of the pool’s top executive to handle staffing and workforce performance as an operational matter without input from the board. However, while day-to-day HR and management responsibilities are not in a director’s purview, a general awareness of overall staffing can be informative. To that end, here are some simple, useful measures:

satisfaction. Plus, a high retention rate spares your pool the expense of frequently hiring and training new talent.

Average tenure. This metric is straightforward but particularly important for any pool developing a strategic workforce plan. Which departments and competencies will experience the greatest turnover in the near future, and how can your pool promote, recruit, or restructure to mitigate those losses?

Diversity rate. Keep track of how successfully your pool creates an environment that fosters an open and accepting community. Diversity is an especially important consideration as workforce demographics change.

ADMINISTRATION

Finally, all of the KPIs referenced above can be used collectively to evaluate overall administration, regardless of staffing structure (fully in-house, outsourced, or some combination thereof). Pool boards can also measure operating expense—the percentage of income being used to pay for operating and administrative fees—to evaluate administrative efficiency.

It’s a cliché to say, “What gets measured gets managed.” The fact is, plenty of things get measured and don’t get managed. And some things get managed without first being measured.

There remains a fundamental truth here, though: It’s much easier to manage something if you’ve defined it, measured it, and thought seriously about what the numbers are telling you. This is doubly true when the people doing the managing are new to the process, as is increasingly the case in public entity pooling.

A simple but potent set of key indicators—like the ones described above—can help newcomers quickly, effectively assume their performance management responsibilities.

Michelle Carter is the executive director of Tandem Collective.

Retention rate. This retention metric is often viewed as a measure of employee

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | PUBLIC RISK

13

Meet Michael Fann, ARM-P, MBA

Thank You Michael for Supporting PRIMA – Y O U T R U LY A R E A PIONEER!

W I N N E R O F P R I M A’ S P I O N E E R E XCELLENCE AWA RD! Michael G. Fann. ARM-P, MBA Director of Loss Control Public Entity Partners (Tennessee Pool)

AMAZING WORK WITH PRIMA AND IN THE P U B L I C R I S K M A N AG E M E N T I N D U S T R Y: • Michael has a 34-year public risk management career, all with the Public Entity Partners Risk Management Pool • First PRIMA Annual Conference attended was in Nashville in 1989 » He’s only missed two Annual Conferences since then!

• Twice served on the PRIMA Board of Directors • Founding member of the PRIMA Tennessee Chapter (TnPRIMA), as well as a two-time President (1993 & 2012) and Board member • Received the PRIMA’s Chapter Service Award twice • Teaches educational sessions yearly at PRIMA Institute • Member of PRIMA’s Speakers Bureau since its inception, and has spoken at 16 PRIMA chapters representing 19 different states.

• Subject matter expert on the PRIMA webinar series, “Essential Elements of Public Entity Loss Control” • Presenter of the popular January 2020 PRIMA Webinar, “Defining the Ten Most Critical Risk Management Issues for Your Entity” • Named PRIMA’s Public Risk magazine Author of the Year 2011 after writing numerous articles throughout the years for the Public Risk magazine

• Presented an educational scholarship proposal to the President and Board of Public Entity Partners for deserving risk managers of insured pool members. PE Partners now offers multiple scholarships for the PRIMA Annual Conference, PRIMA Institute, and TriPRIMA; thus, increasing educational and networking opportunities.

• Fann lead the development of the PE Partners Property Conservation Risk Management Program. This program has not only assisted in the conservation of member public assets, but also created loss control programs for financial and emerging risks associated with cyber exposures; » This program won the 2017 Intergovernmental Risk Pool Achievement Award

Interested in applying for the

2021 Pioneer Excellence Award?

Applications will open mid-October 2020.

Visit primacentral.org/awards

BY JULIE FRISBEY

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | PUBLIC RISK

15

PREVENTING EMERGENCY VEHICLE CRASHES THROUGH A SAFET Y-MINDED CULTURE

A

CCORDING TO A RECENT STUDY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA'S

COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH, police officers are nearly twice as likely to

be involved in a traffic accident when driving in response to an emergency.

Since 2009, 351 officers have lost their lives, and many more have lost their careers or even their freedom as a result of unsafe on-duty driving. While

law enforcement officers are trained to run toward danger, we understand it's difficult to

prevent all line-of-duty deaths. However, with the proper training and procedures in place, we can help prevent tragedies caused by unsafe emergency-response driving.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRIVING

Different than pursuit-based driving, emergency-response driving occurs when an officer rushes in response to an urgent event, such as a life-threatening incident or violent crime in progress. An officer driving in such fashion must have due regard for the safety of others even when driving at a high rate of speed with lights and sirens. Additionally, officers should consider the following: • How urgent is the situation?

• Are other officers already on the scene or nearby?

• What are the weather and visibility conditions?

• What is the time of day?

• What is the speed and volume of nearby traffic?

• What is the officer's real, not perceived, ability to operate their vehicle at a given speed?

• Is the vehicle equipped with lights and sirens?

• What is the condition of the vehicle?

Also, an officer should activate lights and sirens, cease the use of computers and cell phones, and only talk on the radio when it is safe to do so.

It is also critical that the officer pay attention to potential traffic from side roads and anticipate and slow down for upcoming intersections, regardless of the traffic light color. It is the responsibility of the officer to clear the intersection and watch for other drivers that might be changing lanes. Officers should never suspend right-of-way rules or other rules of the road.

16

PUBLIC RISK | MARCH/APRIL 2020

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRIVING AND YOUR PUBLIC ENTITY

If an officer is involved in an accident while responding to an emergency, who pays the price? Often, public entities will, either directly or as a result of a claim filed with their insurance carrier, as public entities are not always protected by governmental immunity.

The possibility of immunity often depends on case-specific facts and will require involvement from an insurance carrier and/or legal counsel.

Recent cases underscore the effort required to flesh out the factual and legal issues before an immunity determination is made. Consider the case of Texas Department of Pub. Safety v. Bonilla. There, a plaintiff sued for injuries suffered when a Texas state trooper collided with him while running a red light while pursuing a reckless driver. The Texas Department of Public Safety argued that a damage claim should be rejected based both on the trooper's official immunity and the emergency response exception to the state Tort Claims Act's waiver of sovereign immunity. The Texas Supreme Court ultimately overturned the lower courts' rejections of these arguments, holding that the need to establish the "good faith" of the trooper was not equivalent to a general negligence standard, but rather protected all but the plainly incompetent.

A recent New York case involved a police officer responding to a disabled car. The officer had cut in front of a motorist's vehicle in rush hour traffic on an expressway. While the motorist was

able to stop her vehicle and avoid colliding with the police car, another vehicle struck the rear of her car. An appeals court upheld a jury verdict finding the officer 50 percent at fault for the accident and that the officer drove in reckless disregard for others' safety. The court found that the officer came to an extremely abrupt virtual stop in front of the plaintiff motorist's vehicle, without any warning, and in 40 miles per hour rush hour traffic, doing so just seconds before the collision occurred.

So how can you build a culture of individual responsibility and safety behind the wheel? Start with your police chief or top-level supervisors and communicate the message of safety to your team of officers. By asking your organization to follow some basic safety guidelines, you can help to reduce law enforcement traffic-related fatalities, injuries, and incidents.

• Slow down. While driving quickly can be essential to arriving at an emergency, exceeding the posted speed limit is still dangerous and can lead to accidents.

Imagine you are traveling with friends or family in the vehicle and drive with due care.

• Assess Visibility. Extra caution should be taken at night, in inclement weather or any circumstance where visibility is limited in any way.

• Click it. Follow the sound advice given to all other drivers on the road and wear your seat belt. Not doing so can have catastrophic consequences and cause preventable injury.

• Train drivers. Ensure that all those driving an emergency vehicle has been properly

trained and is fully capable of driving the vehicle. Ensure safe driving is a piece of this training.

• Stay Aware. While there may be much happening in the vehicle, from radio communication to enacting sirens and lights, the vehicle operator should always remain distraction-free—do not write, send or read texts or other electronic messages while driving when the vehicle is in motion • Stay Awake. Be aware of the impact of fatigue. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), up to 6,000 fatal crashes each year may be caused by fatigued drivers. The CDC also lists shift workers as being at higher risk for drowsy driving. Many police officers are tired on the job, even those who have been a patrol officer for only a few months have found themselves fighting off sleep behind the wheel. Train your officers on the signs of drowsy driving and have them commit to pulling over when they're dangerously tired.

THE DANGERS OF INTERSECTIONS

It is critical also to acknowledge the dangers posed by intersections. While initially intended to reduce the number of traffic conflicts and increase traffic safety, signalized intersections are considered the most complicated road settings for many drivers. More emergency vehicle crashes have occurred at intersections than other places.

The high speeds typically driven during an emergency response become even more hazardous at intersections as they create a longer "dilemma zone" for the officer and other drivers on the road. A "dilemma zone" is the area of road before an intersection where drivers have to decide whether to stop or pass through before the upcoming red signal. If a vehicle stops suddenly within the dilemma zone, a rear-end crash is likely to occur. If a vehicle makes the decision to pass through the dilemma zone and run the red light, an angular crash is likely to occur within the intersection. The pressure to arrive

on scene quickly is one of the most hazardous tasks of emergency vehicle driving. It can lead to premature decision making, increased risk tolerance, and impaired cognitive performance.

SAFETY FIRST

Nothing is more important than the safety of your officers and community, but even the most diligent officer can be involved in an accident on the way to an emergency. Instead of training your officers to "get there fast," teach them to "get there safely." After all, a first responder cannot assist if they don't arrive in the first place. If community leaders take the time to consistently work closely with police leaders, sergeants, trainers, and line officers to promote and enforce a safety-minded culture, they can reduce the likelihood of needless injuries and fatalities. As in many emergency response situations—safety must come first.

Julie Frisbey is the risk management field consultant at Intact Insurance Public Entities.

It is critical also to acknowledge the dangers posed by intersections. While initially intended to reduce the number of traffic conflicts and increase traffic safety, signalized intersections are considered the most complicated road settings for many drivers. More emergency vehicle crashes have occurred at intersections than other places.

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | PUBLIC RISK

17

Register for PRIMA’s APRIL WEBINAR FREE TO MEMBERS

Liability and Auto Claims APRIL 15 | 12:00 – 1:30 PM EST Speakers: Dean Coughenour, ARM, Director of Risk Management, City of Flagstaff (AZ) Attendees will learn the primary elements in handling claims. The presenter will walk participants through the denial, acceptance, mediation, insurance carrier ramifications and the influence of politics.

Learn to avoid the pitfalls and excel in your departments’ handling of both simple and complex claims.

Attendee Takeaways: ➊ What a claim is and what you can do now to reduce the impact to your organization ➋ What role does politics play in the consideration of your claims handling ➌ What steps you can take when a claim occurs and after you receive the claim ➍ The proper timing to prepare for litigation and when to settle/pay the demand

Register at primacentral.org/webinars

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FIND US ON LINKEDIN!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS PRIMA’s calendar of events is current at time of publication.

For the most up-to-date schedule, visit www.primacentral.org.

PRIMA ANNUAL CONFERENCES June 14–17, 2020 PRIMA 2020 ANNUAL CONFERENCE Nashville, TN Gaylord Opryland June 13–16, 2021 PRIMA 2021 ANNUAL CONFERENCE Milwaukee, WI Wisconsin Center June 5–8, 2022 PRIMA 2022 ANNUAL CONFERENCE San Antonio, Texas Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

PRIMA INSTITUTE October 26–30, 2020 Washington, DC

ERM TRAINING April 1–2, 2020 Washington, D.C. August 4–5, 2020 Austin, TX

PRIMA WEBINARS April 15 • Liability and Auto Claims May 20 • Marijuana and CBD June 24 • Until Help Arrives July 22 • ERM Beyond the Risk Assessment— Framework, Principles and Integration August 19 • Weather Disaster: Emergency Response Plan

Receive daily updates on what’s new at PRIMA and in the public risk management industry!

VISIT US AT www.linkedin.com/company/prima-central

September 16 • Leveraging Telehealth to Redefine Intake and Proactively Manage Care October 16 • Building a Peer Support Program November 4 • Emerging Risk and Insurance December 16 • Occupational Physicals and Employee Wellness: Redirecting Costs

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | PUBLIC RISK

19

Meet PRIMA’s New Members from December 2019 – January 2020!

T H A N K YO U F O R J O I N I N G T H E P R I M A C O M M U N I T Y !

Margaret Zechlin, CPCU, ARe, ASLI, AIC, RPLU Allied Public Risk

Melissa Masoner City of Newport

John Greenburg Michigan Catholic Conference

Angie Peraza Ascension Parish School Board

Cathie Chancellor, JD, MS, CRM City of Norfolk

Dawn Schriewer New Braunfels Utilities

Mary Otley Benton County

Stacy Lunde City of Rapid City

Dave Harvey Property Casualty Coverage for Education

Tim Tipton Blount County

Rhonda Combs, ARM City of Salinas

Lissa Stauff, AIC, ARM-P, CPCU Regional Transportation District

Thomas Dellapenna Jr. Broome County

Donna Vogel City of Suffolk

Steve Mauer South Central Solid Waste Authority

David McHenry Cannon Cochran Mgmt Svcs, Inc.

Rhea Cragun, MBA City of Valdez

Tracy Diel State Of Kansas - Department of Administration

Deborah Watkins Care Bridge International

Lisa Hjaltalin Community Colleges of Spokane

J. Johnson, CPCU, ARM-P, AIS, AINS The Johnson Agency

Andrew Curran Cecil County Public Schools

Michael Schwerin County of Charleston

Shanda Ford, CBP Town of Collierville

Bradley Stein, MPA City of Asheville

Steven Rushforth County of Hamilton

Cynthia Greer, IPMA-SCP, SHRM-SCP Town of Collierville

Harwood Edvalson, ARM City of Bonney Lake

Stephanie Randolph David A. Straz, Jr. Center for Performing Arts

Jose Lugo Town of Davie

Beverley Lindsey City of Cleveland

Joseph Snyder Fairmount Fire Protection District

Lori Wisner Town of Erie

Raquel Elejabarrieta City Of Coral Gables

Cheryl Sargent Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority

Bernard Cooper Town of Norwood

Diane Qualls City of East Ridge

Lisa Jump Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority

Mark Santoleri, CHSP Township of Lower Merion

Jeanne Pope, MA, IPMA-CP City of Hamilton

Paula Blonski Illinois State Toll Highway Authority

Mollie Kallen

Peter Junker, ARM City of Hollywood, FL

Keith Hummel J. A. Montgomery Risk Control

Karen Paulson City of Madeira Beach

James Cramer JWC Consulting LLC

Evonne Duzant City of New Haven

Robert Brown Local Government Insurance Agency, LLC

Richard Spiers, CPCU, ARM, ARe, AIc Cheryl Tinsley, ARM, ABC Angel Gustavo Lopez Montiel

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