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Council approves five-year contract for workers' comp administrator after vetting questions
Summary
Council approved a five-year agreement with Adminure to continue third-party administration of workers' compensation claims after staff explained Prism (risk pool) vetting, an incumbent-history rationale and the difficulty of apples-to-apples comparisons; public commenters raised concerns about fixed monthly fees and cancellation terms.
The council approved a five-year contract with Adminure for third-party administration (TPA) of municipal workers' compensation benefits, following a request to pull the consent item for discussion.
Council Member Sherillion said she pulled the item to ask about funding sources and whether an RFP would be appropriate after 11 years with the incumbent. Human Resources Director Lisa Jenkins explained the contract is funded from the insurance fund; "primarily the transfer for the insurance fund was related to claims paid. So, this is an administrative cost for the day-to-day administration of workers compensation services," she said. Staff further explained that Adminure has worked with the city for decades and that the city last went out to RFP in 2015. The city's risk pool (Prism) audits providers and vets relative costs and satisfaction; staff said Prism vetted available administrators in 2022 and found Adminure to be the lowest cost below baseline in that review.
A public commenter asked about the financial risk of a fixed-fee schedule if claim volumes surge or drop and noted the contract included a five-day cancellation notice; the commenter urged clarity about the city's exposure to variable claim volumes. Staff acknowledged implementation costs of switching administrators and the challenge of direct comparisons across vendors but said due diligence supported renewing the contract.
After questions and public comment the council voted 5-0 to approve the agreement. Council requested further details on audit frequency and follow-up comparisons as part of staff reporting.
