Rockingham County commissioners on July 21 recapped the county's insurance for the upcoming year, saying overall premiums have risen from about $900,000 a year to a little over $1.2 million over the last four years and that roughly $220,000 of that increase is related to jail and law enforcement liability, county officials said.

Board member Charlie Hall, who identified himself by name, said the county has seen a mix of increases and decreases across insurance line items. "Our insurance has gone from about 900,000 a year to a little over $1,200,000. And I think the loss prevention folks have done a great job, especially when you consider that about 220,000 of that increase is related to the jail liability, law enforcement liability," Hall said.

Chairman Kevin Berger, who identified himself as chairman of the board of commissioners, agreed that some line items rose about 30 percent while others declined. "Yes. That's correct. We've had a couple of line items with insurance go up about 30%, and we've had a couple of line items also come down as far as the premium amount," Berger said.

Commissioners credited the county's IT security work and risk-management staff with limiting increases in cyberinsurance and other areas. "Deductible has gone down from 50,000 to 25,000, and our premium has reduced as well. So great job, IT department," Hall said. Berger added: "Yes. Our IT department has done a tremendous job. Many people have heard of cyberattacks in a number of different areas. For us to have the premium and deductible in that area to come down, is, kudos to the IT department. And also, thank you for all the hard work, Chris Elliott, our risk manager."

Berger also described changes in the deductible for the specific liability line item discussed earlier, saying, "That one line item has also seen the deductible go over the past couple of years from 10,000 to 200,000." The transcript does not reconcile those differing deductible figures stated by Hall and Berger.

No formal motions or votes on insurance were recorded in the transcript. Commissioners said county management can provide a concise list of insurance premiums and deductibles from the presentation for members of the public who request it.

The brief recap also included non-policy items not covered in this article. The board scheduled its next meeting for Aug. 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the Commissioners' Chambers in Wentworth.