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January 2012
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What Others Are Saying About Us...
"Thank you to the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Corporation for taking steps to respond to the Budget Repair Bill and assist counties in preparing for changes. Waushara County participates in the BRB program that was so graciously offered by the County Mutual. I have had the pleasure of working with Dan Borowski directly. Dan and the entire Phillips Borowski staff have been extremely helpful as the county reviewed and developed policies and strategies to bring us into the post-BRB world.
Waushara looks forward to the continued process of adapting to the challenges facing county government."
Sincerely,
Debra Behringer
Administrative Coordinator
Waushara County
December 21, 2011
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Upcoming School Presentations...
Risk Management Consultant Jodi Traas is speaking on February 29th at the Wisconsin Association of School Board Officials' (WASBO) Facilities Management Conference with the topic "Safety: 20 Areas of Concern & Responsibility." She is also speaking at the WASBO Transportation & Bus Safety Workshop on "Mitigating Insurance Through Effective Risk Management."
For more information, click here.
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What Is Your Risk Management Plan?
County Mutual Risk Management Staff, on average, make over 500 on-site safety and risk management visits per year. When is the last time your county took a closer look at its safety efforts? The risk management program is run by the County Mutual's general administrator Aegis Corporation and on any given day, their staff are providing hands-on training around the state on topics such as chainsaw safety, blood borne pathogens, and violence in the workplace. To learn more and to schedule a visit, contact Vance Forrest, Vice President of Risk Management at Aegis Corporation, at 800.236.6885 or via email at [email protected]. ___________ |
New Playground Supervision Training Video Now Online
A new training video, "Playground Supervision," has just been added to our online training library. As with all County Mutual and Community Insurance Corporation online safety training modules, "Playground Supervision" is available online to members and incorporates text slides, along with streaming video and audio, which guides users through the training. At the end of the module, participants take a multiple choice quiz. Member counties, school districts and municipalities can access "Playground Supervision" by visiting www.wisconsincountymutual.org and clicking on "Safety Training Login." ___________ |
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FIND THE COUNTY MUTUAL AND COMMUNITY INSURANCE CORPORATION ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER!
Stay up-to-date on the happenings of the County Mutual by following us on Twitter and becoming a fan on Facebook. Click on the links here for Community Insurance Corporation's Twitter and Facebook.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COUNTY MUTUAL
& COMMUNITY INSURANCE CORPORATION
The Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Corporation (County Mutual) is dedicated to serving Wisconsin's counties and local governments and the people they serve by providing long-term stability in insurance coverages, while proactively working to control costs.
Community Insurance Corporation provides these same services to school districts, cities, towns and villages.
To learn more, contact John Dirkse or Karen Flynn at [email protected] or [email protected], at 800.236.6885 or online at www.wisconsincountymutual.org
To visit Community Insurance Corporation, click here.
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To receive The Mutual Effort online, click here to subscribe and be sure to include your preferred email address, your name, county/municipality and job title. Feel free to forward onto any interested parties and we'll get them on the mailing list as well. ___________
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County Mutual and WCA Group Health Trust Co-Host Budget Repair Bill Health Insurance Seminar
 
On Tuesday, January 24, 2012, over 50 local government leaders from around the state gathered to focus on the delivery of health benefits in light of recent changes to the state's collective bargaining agreements. This event was part of the County Mutual's Budget Repair Bill (BRB) Consortium and was cosponsored by the WCA Group Heath Trust (GHT).
Attendees heard presentations on options for plan design changes, discussed ways of injecting consumerism into their health benefit plans without placing the burden on employees and shared ideas on successful wellness programs that can benefit both the employee and employer. They also learned what a pharmacy benefits manager can do to save their health plan money, discussed what should be expected to effectively work with brokers and agents, and were updated on what's ahead for healthcare reform.
Read the full BRB Health Insurance Seminar story here.
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LEGAL REPORT-
Court of Appeals Decision on Legal Bills as Public Records
By Joseph P. Wright and Bryan Kleinmaier, Stafford Rosenbaum LLP
Legal bills generated by defense counsel retained by an insurance company to represent a county constitute "contractors' records" and are subject to disclosure under the Wisconsin Public Records Law, according to a published decision recently issued by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Juneau County Star-Times, et al. v. Juneau County, et al., 2011 WI App 150 (October 27, 2011). Juneau County filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has not yet issued its decision on the petition.
The court of appeals decision affects all Wisconsin municipalities that procure liability insurance from private insurance companies. If the decision stands, Wisconsin municipalities will have to coordinate with their insurance carrier to respond to requests for legal bills generated by insurance defense counsel, including making a determination with respect to what, if any, information should be redacted from the bills to protect the attorney-client privilege. See media coverage of this issue:
Juneau County Star Times Article dated 11/30/11 |
County Highway Safety Days Coming in May
 The Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Corporation will be holding the inaugural Highway Safety Days in May 2012. The event, held at two separate locations and dates, will be a day of enrichment for county highway employees and municipal employees. Highway Safety Days will include hands-on training from industry leaders and will highlight some of the biggest hazards our employees face every single day.
There will be two to choose from:
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College
1900 College Drive
Rice Lake, WI 54868
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center
1001 Amber Avenue
Stevens Point, WI 54482
To see the full agenda, as well as registration information for the County Mutual's Highway Safety Days, click here. |
New This Fall: County Mutual Law Enforcement Challenge
The County Mutual will be sponsoring their first "Law Enforcement Challenge" in October of 2012. This unique training event will bring together law enforcement from around Wisconsin and will feature a driving, running and live firearm shooting competition. All County Mutual and Community Insurance Corporation law enforcement departments are invited to attend.
Stay tuned to "The Mutual Effort" in the upcoming months for registration information. For questions, please contact Bruce Scott at 414.491.1656 or via email.
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County Mutual's Firearms Training Simulators Highlighted; Available Free for Member Use
 The County Mutual's state-of-the-art firearms training simulator, MILO, was featured in an article by Dawn Kiefer of "The Richland Observer" on January 12, 2012.
Read the cover story on the article here. For the second page of the story, scroll down to the header "Weapons" here.
As a reminder, MILO is available to member counties' and municipalities' law enforcement departments for free. In addition, the County Mutual owns two other firearms training simulators. In 2011, all three units traveled the state and close to 30 sheriffs' departments and municipalities utilized the simulators.
To schedule a time for the MILO system to come to your department, please contact Bruce Scott at 414.491.1656
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SCHOOL NEWS-
Act 86 Now in Effect Dealing with Administration of Medications in Schools
Act 86 (2011 Senate Bill 45) went into effect last month and deals with the administration of medications in schools to pupils. To learn more about the Act, click here.
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SCHOOL NEWS-
New National Voluntary Standard on Playground Safety Released
 A updated national voluntary standard on playground safety was released in November of 2011. The last time the standard, ASTM F1487-11, was updated was in 2008.
Community Insurance Corporation has purchased the new standard, so to view it and for more information, contact your loss control representative at 800.236.6885. In addition, Aegis Risk Management Consultant Jodi Traas is a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) through the National Recreation & Park Association and is available to answer questions on the new standard. She also provides Playground Safety & Maintenance Training and Playground Supervision Training.
The Public Playground Safety Handbook is the Federal Guideline from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The latest edition is November 2010, publication #325. |
SCHOOL NEWS-
CIC Honors Individuals For Making a Difference at School's Conference
On Thursday, January 19, 2012 at the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials Annual Conference, Community Insurance Corporation, along with the WCA Group Health Trust, co-sponsored a reception honoring individuals who positively impacted the business operations of school districts around the state.
Congratulations to all of this year's winners:
Kristine A. Gilmore, Ed. D., Superintendent of the Year; Larry Dalton, Business Official of the Year; Mindy Lankey, New School Business Manager of the Year; Jim Beckmann, Facilities Manager of the Year; Ken Mischler, Wallace E. Zastrow Award; Maggie Gagnon, Shining Star Award.
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SCHOOL NEWS-
Community Insurance Corporation Staff to Present at Wisconsin School Safety Coordinators Association Conference
On February 28, 2012, Loss Control Representative Debra DeWitt will be speaking at the 44th Annual Wisconsin School Safety Coordinators Association (WSSCA) Conference in Wisconsin Dells. The topic of her presentation is "Technical Education - What You Need to Know."
The WSSCA conference will also have a Department of Public Instruction Representative, Steve Fernan, discussing the compliance components of ACT 309 School Safety Law which school districts must have in place in one year. Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (formerly Department of Commerce) Section Chief Dave Vriezen will discuss updates and priorities to the department. To peruse the entire conference agenda and speakers please go to www.wssca.org
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 "The Mutual Effort" is provided as a service to the members of the Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Corporation ("County Mutual")
and Community Insurance Corporation ("CIC") and other Internet users and is published by Aegis Corporation. It is derived from sources believed to be accurate and current as of the date of publication. However, the County Mutual makes no warranty and assumes no legal liability for the accuracy, currency or completeness of the information herein. "The Mutual Effort Online" is provided for general information only, and is not intended as legal advice. Any links to other sites within this publication are not endorsements of any products or services in such sites, and no information in such site has been endorsed or approved by County Mutual. Unauthorized republication of any copyrighted material from this site or sites to which we link, without the copyright owner's permission, is strictly prohibited.
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