Council approves mutual‑aid agreement with regional emergency response team; insurance questions raised

The Westchester Borough Council voted to adopt a resolution formalizing a mutual‑aid agreement with the Westchester Area Regional Emergency Response Team on Sept. 16 to coordinate regional emergency response. The motion was recommended 3‑0 by the public safety committee and approved by the council as presented.

Council members asked whether borough employees who join the regional team are covered by borough insurance when they respond outside the borough. Borough staff and the manager responded that work‑related injuries to borough employees are covered by the borough's workers’ compensation when the employee is acting in the course of duty; municipal members must maintain minimum liability coverage, and the regional team also carries its own liability insurance. "If it's a borough police officer going off on emergency response, it's covered by the borough's workers' comp insurance," the manager said, and he added that participating jurisdictions typically require minimum liability limits.

The council also discussed the practical effect of multi‑jurisdictional responses. The manager said that in multi‑party claims arising from regional responses, multiple jurisdictions could be named in a lawsuit, and each municipality's liability policies would be implicated. No changes to insurance programs were adopted at the meeting; the council approved the mutual‑aid resolution and asked staff to confirm specific insurance details and carriers as needed.