Arcadia insurance deal questioned
By Donna Comella

When the Arcadia Town Board voted last month to switch insurance carriers, some thought it would save about $10,000. But that may be what it costs extra.

On May 12, council members voted 3-2 to back out of their association with the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal, and go with Titan Insurance Co. The NYMIR policy was renewable on May 8. Newark's Stell Agency handled the NYMIR account; Ely & Leene Agency handles Titan.

Written quotes for the two deals were for $32,438 (NYMIR) and $30,889 (Titan), and although it looked as though the town would be saving, that depends on the final NYMIR bill. The Town is bound to give NYMIR 60 days notice of cancellation, and must pay the fifth, and final, installment for membership in the municipal self-insurance group. A letter from NYMIR representative Robert Wallace breaks it down to $7,573 for coverage through July 8 and penalties, and a $2,127 capitalization fee - a total bill of $9,700. The town will also lose their NYMIR investment of $10,636, and future earnings as owner/members of NYMIR.

This week, a letter from attorney Dan Barrett requested that town board members reconsider the decision and bring the matter back for discussion at the June 9 meeting. After pointing out the financial drawbacks of the deal, Barrett, representing the Stell Agency, suggested in his letter that "..it would be a better idea to leave the insurance with NYMIR this year and then have an outside insurance consultant" assist in fact-finding for the 5/8/99 - 5/8/00 term."

But Supervisor Dom Bartucca says he doesn't think the town will have to pay out the $9,700. Town Councilman Mike DeJohn says he, too, is skeptical about the dollar amounts. He said Tuesday morning, "I'm not sure how accurate those figures are, but if they're right, it's highway robbery."

Through Barrett, the Stell Agency also questions why Ely & Leene issued a binder ('temporary insurance contract') for the town on May 7 - five days before the May 12 vote. Bartucca and DeJohn said they had been unaware of the 60-day cancellation clause in the NYMIR policy, so the binder was issued so there would be no lapse in the town's coverage.

As for the written quotes, DeJohn and Bartucca said that the Stell Agency's original quote was higher before being trimmed for the May 12 meeting.

"The agent is supposed to be looking out for the town," said DeJohn. "It's the people's money and it's our obligation to be sure it's being spent wisely. (Stell) should have been competitive before we got a lower quote."

"If (Stell Agency) was working in the best interest of the taxpayer," said Bartucca, "he would have given us the best price in the first place. First they said it would be $37,961, then the night of the meeting, it had come down to $32,438. Ely & Leene gave us one price and one price only."

But, it was reported that the Titan quote also dropped during the meeting, down to about $28,000. And according to Tom Shear, of the Stell Agency, the Titan's quote is based on last year's data.

The two Council members who voted against the change were Gary Grant and Brenda Westcott. Earlier this week, Grant said he had voted 'no' because he wasn't satisfied the board had thoroughly investigated the issue. He added that he would like the matter to be on Tuesday's agenda. "Let's really crunch these numbers...This is just not the way it should have been done."

Wescott said that she voted 'no' because she, too, felt the matter had not been "handled properly." She said she would have liked to see bids from all the agencies in town.

And when critics point out that Ely & Leene is also the agency that handles the Empire Tree Surgeon company owned and operated by Supervisor Bartucca, he calls it "sour grapes." He asks, "Is working for the taxpayers a conflict of interest?"

Grant agrees. "It's not necessarily a conflict of interest, because the supervisor is not directly benefitting...But there may be the appearance of (a conflict) and that may be bad enough." Grant added that part of the perception of a conflict may be because Ely & Leene was the only agency contacted for a bid.

Stell Agency owner Richard "Ernie" Evangelist had predicted Bartucca's "sour grapes" comment, but said he was just disappointed in the way the matter had been handled. Both he and Shear claim that Bartucca did not return phone calls about the NYMIR policy renewal. They say that if he had, perhaps he would have known about the 60-day cancellation clause and the decreasing rates.

Bartucca admits, "I did make waves, and I guess I'm the bad guy for doing it. I'm just trying to save the taxpayers some money."

Attorney Dan Barrett and the Stell Agency is listed on the agenda for the June 9 Town Board meeting.

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