Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Insurance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wausau finance committee agrees to renew CIVMEC membership for 2026, to run RFP next year
Summary
The Wausau Finance Committee voted to authorize membership renewal in the mutual insurance pool known as CIVMEC for policy year 2026 and directed staff to run a full request for proposals next year to compare options.
The Wausau Finance Committee voted Sept. 9 to renew the city’s membership in the mutual insurance pool CIVMEC for policy year 2026 and to direct staff to run a full request for proposals (RFP) in 2026 to evaluate alternatives.
The decision was made after staff described services CIVMEC provides, including training, risk-reduction programming and a recruiting software subscription the staff said would cost about $40,000 if purchased separately. Mary Anne, a city staff member, told the committee that the city’s 2025 CIVMEC premium was “about $214,000” and that the 2026 premium was stated as roughly $220,000. She also warned that “that dividend and the timetable of September 15 is set as a hard stop,” meaning the city would forfeit that year’s dividend if it delayed beyond the deadline to sign.
Committee members discussed trade-offs between staying with a mutual insurer, which returns excess revenue to members as dividends, and opening a broader competitive process that could include other mutuals or private insurers. Members said mutuals offer safety training and cooperative benefits tailored to municipal exposures, but acknowledged it had been nearly 20 years since the city had conducted a market review.
A motion on the floor, as amended during discussion, authorized renewing CIVMEC membership for 2026 and instructed staff to initiate an RFP in spring 2026 to compare CIVMEC with other mutuals and private-sector insurers. The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting minutes.
Committee members also noted practical timing constraints: staff and an outside consultant told the committee that starting an RFP now would push decision-making into December and would cause the city to lose that year’s dividend, while signing now preserves the dividend and allows a more deliberate RFP in the spring.
The committee’s action will be forwarded to the full Common Council for final approval.
