HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 11094 (Workers Comp. Eval.; Wright & Associates)RESOLUTION NO. 11094
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SIGNING OF AN AGREEMENT
WITH SUSAN M. WRIGHT & ASSOCIATES FOR EVALUATION OF
THE CITY'S WORKERS' COMPENSATION PROGRAM
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL RESOLVES as follows:
The CITY MANAGER is authorized to execute, on behalf of the City of San Rafael, an
Agreement with Susan M. Wright & Associates for Evaluation of the City's Workers'
Compensation program.
I, JEANNE M. LEONCINI, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the
foregoing resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the
City Council of said City on Monday, the 20th day of May, 2002, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Miller, Phillips & Mayor Boro
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
A5tl a.g C - EQj jc&6 1P
FoQ JEANNE M. LEONCINI, City Clerk
AGREEMENT FOR EVALUATION OF THE
CITY'S WORKERS' COMPENSATION PROGRAM
This Agreement is made and entered into this 20th day of May, 2002, by and between the
CITY OF SAN RAFAEL (hereinafter "CITY"), and Susan M. Wright & Associates (hereinafter
"CONSULTANT").
AGREEMENT
The parties hereby agree as follows:
1. DUTIES OF CONSULTANT.
CONSULTANT shall perform the duties and provide services as provided in Exhibit "A",
attached and incorporated herein.
2. DUTIES OF CITY.
CITY shall provide all requested information to CONSULTANT in a timely manner. For
the duties performed and the services provided by CONSULTANT, CITY shall pay
CONSULTANT an amount not to exceed $6,600. Should the CITY desire more analysis or a
presentation before the City Council, CONSULTANT shall be compensated for the additional
work at the hourly rate of $140.
3. TERM OF AGREEMENT.
The performance of this Agreement shall be from the date of execution until the project is
complete.
4. INDEMNIFICATION.
CONSULTANT shall indemnify, release, defend and hold harmless CITY, its officers,
agents, employees, and volunteers, against any claim, demand, suit, judgment, loss, liability or
expense of any kind, including attorney's fees and administrative costs, arising out of or resulting in
any way, in whole or in part, from any acts or omissions, intentional or negligent, of
CONSULTANT or CONSULTANT'S officers, agents and employees in the performance of their
duties and obligations under this Agreement.
5. NONDISCRIMINATION.
CONSULTANT shall not discriminate, in any way, against any person on the basis of age,
sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin or disability in connection with or related to the
performance of its duties and obligations under this Agreement.
6. COMPLIANCE WITH ALL LAWS,.
CONSULTANT shall observe and comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws,
ordinances, codes and regulations, in the performance of its duties and obligations under this
Agreement. CONSULTANT shall perform all services under this Agreement in accordance with
these laws, ordinances, codes and regulations. CONSULTANT shall release, defend, indemnify
and hold harmless CITY, its officers, agents and employees from any and all damages, liabilities,
penalties, fines and all other consequences from any noncompliance or violation of any laws,
ordinances, codes or regulations.
7. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR.
For the purposes, and for the duration, of this Agreement, CONSULTANT, its officers,
agents and employees shall act in the capacity of an Independent Contractor, and not as employees
of the CITY. CONSULTANT and CITY expressly intend and agree that the status of
CONSULTANT, its officers, agents and employees be that of an Independent Contractor and not
that of an employee of CITY.
8. ENTIRE AGREEMENT -- AMENDMENTS.
The terms and conditions of this Agreement, all exhibits attached, and all documents
expressly incorporated by reference, represent the entire Agreement of the parties with respect to
the subject matter of this Agreement. The terms and conditions of this Agreement shall not be
altered or modified except by a written amendment to this Agreement signed by the parties.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the day, month
and year first above written.
CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
ROD GOULD City l; Mana er
ATTEST:
J*A.4-.-�
—MM. LEOI�CINI, City Clerk
APPROVED
f
GARY T. RJ
*'-6�Z
City Attorney
2
CONSULTANT
',1 0
SUSAN M. WRIG Owner, Consultant
SUAN WR16HT
8 1. May.zoos
ASSOCIATES
Specializing in Mr. Daryl Chandler
Assistant Director of Management Services
Workers' Compensation CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
1400 Fifth Avenue, Room 210
San Rafael, California 94915-1560
Subject: Workers' Compensation -Program Review & Evaluation
Dear Mr. Chandler:
Claims Auditing 8 (onsulting please forgive the delay in forwarding this letter and information to
you. Unfortunately this is a very busy time, given the end of the fiscal
Program Design 8 Development year, and I appreciate your understanding and patience.
Performance 8 Nality (ontrol MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE CITY'S NEEDS: In our telephone
Development call, we discussed a consulting project that would evaluate the
efficiency of the City's workers' compensation program.. The City
Training Programs 8 Seminars wants to be certain it is doing all it can to be both cost effective and to
meet the needs of its employees.
Expert Witness Analysis
Testimony Specifically, the City has focused on workers' compensation during the
past several years, including safety, education and the selection of a
new third party claims administrator (CMI). Unfortunately, despite
this increased focus, costs continue to increase, as has litigation. To be
certain that all is being done that should be done, the City would like
to review and assess its internal practices.
Mail:
P.O. BOX 7.290 SCOPE: I perform these assessments on a regular basis, and refer to
Sammento,(alif 15872 this type of consulting project as a "Best Practices Evaluation and
Comparison". If your City wanted to hire me to complete such a
Dellvery: project, I propose the following approach:
736o Flowerwood Way
Sacramento, (alit gS831
Voice: (916) 4u-S43z
fa(simile: (916) 472-aS33
EXHIBIT "A"
Mr. Daryl Chandler
CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
May 15, 2002
Page 2
obtain your historical data and claims information;
evaluate the City's cost drivers;
- examine any City -related issues that could impact the workers' compensation
program;
examine the impact of recent legislative changes / benefit increases; and
review the internal adjustments that have taken place within the City.
In addition to the above, I would also meet with personnel in your City that are most
familiar with the program and its operation. Once this data is gathered and analyzed, I
would prepare a report summarizing my findings. Your City would have a complete picture
of where it has been, what has worked, and whether changes should be made in the future.
If there were opportunities for improvement, they would be pointed out.
FEE: The cost for this project is based on the time it will take to (1) gather the information,
(2) talk to City personnel, (3) analyze the data, and (4) prepare a written report. I expect
that it would take 2 - 3 days to gather information and meet with City personnel. It would
take a day to document and analyze this information and 1 - 2 days to write a report. The
project would be billed at a rate of $1,100 a day, and would be in the range of $5,500 -
$6,600 to complete the work suggested above. This cost includes all time and expense related
to travel and report production. During our discussion you felt that a written report would
probably suffice. Should the City find that more analysis is needed, or should a
presentation before your City Council be desired, the additional cost would be based on an
hourly rate of $140. This work would be done in late July or early August, based on other
work commitments that I have, and the availability of City personnel.
I include information about my background and my firm. I have extensive experience
working with the public sector, particularly cities, counties and joint power agencies. If I
can answer any additional questions, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from
you.
Very sincerely yours,
SUSAN M. WRIGHT
Enclosure
PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS: SUSAN M. WRIGHT
Ms. Wright has been involved with the workers' compensation field for the past
32 years. She has worked for third party administrators, insurance companies and self-
administered employers. From a technical perspective, she has monitored and directed
litigation, managed complex medical problems for injured workers, developed
successful rehabilitation programs and handled all other administrative aspects of
claim adjusting.
Ms. Wright is familiar with the needs of public and private employers. She has
represented management in retirement hearings involving the Public Employees
Retirement System. She has extensive experience preparing written documents for
presentation at School Board, City Council, Executive Conunittee and Board of
Director meetings.
In 1991 - 92, Ms. Wright was one of four consultants selected to provide
professional services to the Workers' Compensation Rate Study Commission, a
Commission established by the California Legislature to evaluate the Minimum Rate
Law and the rate -making mechanisms associated with the workers' compensation
insurance field.
As the owner of Wright & Associates, she provides auditing and consulting
services to employers throughout the State. Ms. Wright's experience enables her to
develop performance standards for third party administrators, and to identify "best
practices" within the industry. Ms. Wright is considered an expert in courts of law
within this State. Ms. Wright also teaches a course in Workers' Compensation Program
Administration and Management for the University of California Extension, Davis.
Ms. Wright started her consulting company in January 1991. Since that time
she has conducted more than 120 audits and consulting projects for the public and
private sector. She is an approved auditor recognized by the State's Office of Self
Insurance Plans. She currently oversees the claims of the Self Insurers Security Fund,
the State Agency charged with managing the claims of bankrupt self-insured
employers. She is also the Executive Director for the California Self -Insurers
Association.
Ms. Wright obtained a Bachelors Degree from California State University,
Dominguez Hills in 1983 (Magna Cum Laud) and then subsequently obtained a Juris
Doctor degree from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific in 1989. She is a
member in good standing of the California State Bar.
LE
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Owner, Consultant Claims Examiner
SUSAN M. WRIGHT & ASSOCIATES UNDERWRITERS ADJUSTING CO.
Sacramento, California San Francisco, California
1991 to present 1978-1979
Claims Manager LAW OFFICE OF LLOYD STALEY
SCHOOLS INSURANCE AUTHORITY San Francisco, California
Sacramento, California 1976 to 1978
1984 to 1991
Claims Administrator State of California
CITY OF TORRANCE WORKERS' COMP. APPEALS BOARD
Torrance, California San Francisco, California
1979 to 1984 1970 to 1976
EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS
Juris Doctor
McGeorge School of Law
May 1989
Bachelor of Arts in Behavioral Science (Magna Cum Laud)
California State University, Dominguez Hills
June 1983
Certificate to Administer Self -Insured Plans
State of California, Department of Industrial Relations
July 1979
7T t
ru
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Member
California Chamber Of Commerce
(Steering Committee)
Workers' Compensation Legislation
1989 to 1990
Board of Directors
Council Of Self -Insured Public Agencies
1983 to 1984
Founding Director,
Southern California Chapter
Public Agency Risk Management
Association (PARMA)
1983 to 1984
Associate Member
California Self Insured's Assn.
1991 to 1992
Member
Woman Lawyers Of Sacramento
1991 to present
State Bar Of California
1993 to present
PRESENTATIONS
"THE NEW AGE OF CLAIMS PROFESSIONALISM"
C.A.J.P.A. Special Training Seminar
South Lake Tahoe, California
September 1990
"EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR WORKERS'
COMPENSATION PROGRAM"
C.O.S.I.P.A. Workers' Comp. Program, Fall
Oakland and Los Angeles, California
September 1992
"WORKERS' COMPENSATION COST CONTAINMENT"
C.A.J.P.A. Fall Conference
South Lake Tahoe, California
September 1993
"BUILDING A BETTER HOUSE -
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CLAIMS AUDIT,
ACTUARY STUDY AND FINANCIAL AUDIT"
C.A.J.P.A. Fall Workshop - Accounting Section
Sacramento, California
January 1998