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Delaware County Council approves $450,000 appropriation to cover liability insurance shortfall
Summary
After extended debate about rising premiums and historical under-budgeting, the Delaware County Council amended a request and approved a $450,000 supplemental appropriation to pay 2025 liability insurance premiums and cover anticipated claims.
Delaware County Council on Aug. 26 approved a $450,000 supplemental appropriation to shore up the county's liability insurance line and pay a premium invoice that was due Sept. 1.
Commissioner Steven Brand, speaking for the commissioners' office, told the council the county's liability and risk premiums have been underbudgeted for several years and that the actual premium for this policy year totaled $1,293,031. “It appears that our liability risk insurance has not been budgeted to the appropriate level for at least the last 3 years,” Brand said, describing a gap between budgeted amounts and actual premiums and claims.
Brand and finance staff presented historic figures showing budgeted premium lines for prior years (for example, budgets in 2023 and 2024 were substantially lower than actual premium charges) and a five‑year running average of claims of $250,637. He said an immediate invoice of $168,928 was due Sept. 1 and that, after accounting for some intra-budget transfers the commissioners had already made, the minimum new appropriation needed ‘for today’ to stabilize the lines was in the mid‑hundreds of thousands of dollars. Councilman Bill moved to amend the commissioners' original appropriation request and set the supplemental at $450,000; the council approved the amended amount by roll call.
Tanya Dunsmore, chief deputy auditor, explained the county consolidated several contractual lines for state reporting and that department‑level detail exists in the auditors' records even when lines are combined in the summary book. Dunsmore and Brand said the commissioners are also seeking competitive quotes for future insurance periods and plan to address the budgeting treatment of large, variable lines as part of 2026 budget work.
The appropriation was processed as an emergency operating measure at the meeting; councilors and staff also discussed timing for paying the insurer (mail, overnight delivery, or electronic transfer) and the administrative steps needed to issue payment before the next commissioners' meeting.
