Riley County commissioners approved an agreement to provide funds necessary for the Riley County Police Department to continue its plans to self-fund its workers’ compensation insurance policy Thursday.
The agreement is similar to one the Manhattan City Commission signed earlier this week.
For RCPD’s process to be successful, the State of Kansas requires that the City of Manhattan and Riley County execute a “Guaranty Agreement.” If RCPD is unable to pay any workers compensation claims due to a lack of funds, the City and County will make up the difference by their own “excess” contributions to those claims. Any such required contributions will be divided between the two governing bodies by assigning 80% to the city and 20% to the county.
The agreement intends to create the $1.1 million “Workers Compensation Reserve Fund” the State of Kansas has made a precondition to RCPD’s plan to become self-insured on workers’ comp claims. Past budget experience of RCPD suggests this goal may result in significant financial savings over time in the future, for both the city and county.
If approved by the state, the RCPD would pay out as much as $650,000 in claims for 2016, $950,000 in 2017 and $1.1 million in 2018. Before 2018, the city and county will make up the difference if necessary.
