East Cocalico manager questions whether township should pay fire vehicle insurance | Community News
When: East Cocalico Township supervisors meeting, April 20.
What happened: Supervisor Romao “RC” Carrasco said the board received a note from Township Manager Tommy Ryan that Ryan called “a confidential memo” involving “personnel and potential litigation.” Carrasco said he did not consider it confidential.
Quotable: “This is an item I feel should be discussed in public,” he said.
Memo: Ryan’s memo was related to the township’s practice of paying insurance premiums for fire vehicles for all three township companies — Smokestown, Stevens and Reamstown. Ryan recommended the fire companies pay their own insurance and receive reimbursement from the township.
Why it matters: Ryan, who came to the township in January, explained that East Cocalico’s practice “is unheard of” in his 30 years in municipal government. His concern was that “any municipality insuring a vehicle it does not own and does not control is very different to say the least.”
More info: Ryan said fire vehicles are the costliest vehicles the township insures and, in the event of an accident, could be regarded as a “catastrophic loss.” He cautioned the board to do more regarding background checks of drivers if they continue to cover the insurance.
Quotable: Vice Chair Jeff Mitchell said he could see Ryan’s point. “All the township vehicles, whether they are police cars or public works trucks, they all come under our management. Our employees are checked out by us. This is a different situation. The fire companies are their own bosses. They decide who drives and who doesn’t. I see it as a liability for us the way it’s set up.”
Comments: Stevens Fire Chief Chad Weaver disagreed. “We provide driver information to whoever it is in the township and it’s verified,” he said. “We get no say in whether