Santa Monica Comp Costs Climbing
Wednesday, May 4, 2016 | 3
Santa Monica is on pace to pay $1.7 more in workers’ compensation costs than it spent last year, according to a report by the Santa Monica Daily Press.
The city has paid $4.7 million in comp costs through the first half of the current fiscal year, according to the Daily Press.
The newspaper said the comp figures were included in a “report recently presented to the City Council.” It doesn’t say when the report was presented, and WorkCompCentral did not find any workers’ compensation data in City Council agenda materials for any meeting in March or April.
But numbers reported by the Daily Press would put the city on pace to spend $9.4 million on workers’ compensation costs this year. That would mean the city last year paid $7.7 million, and the increase in the current fiscal year would be 22% if trends hold.
Higher costs are reportedly being driven in part by a 7.2% increase in new claims in the first half of the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. Average claim severity was up 15% for the same six-month period.
Deb Hossli, risk manager for the city, reportedly said in the report that the city should brace for “significant hikes” in comp costs and “be open to trying unconventional methods” to cut costs. She also noted it could take years for cost-cutting measures to take effect.
“Consequently, it would be wise for the city to prepare for continued higher workers’ compensation well into the future,” she said.
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