The County Commissioners Association of Ohio (CCAOSC) has partnered with the Palmer Energy Company to help manage an electricity program for member counties. The program was designed specifically to help counties save money on their electric bills at county related facilities by utilizing the strength of group buying. By grouping together, counties can leverage their buying power when shopping the market, thus securing the best deals possible. The independent energy professionals of the Palmer Energy Company, on behalf of the CCAOSC, obtain the best price for electricity from various reputable suppliers through the RFP process. Presently there are over 50 participating counties.

Palmer Energy Company is an endorsed CCAOSC program partner.

For further information, please contact:

County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation
John Leutz
CCAO Assistant Director
209 East State Street
Columbus, OH  43215-4309
614/221-5627 or 888/757-1904
Fax 614/221-6986 or

Kirkland Mizerek
Vice President
Palmer Energy Company
5577 Airport Highway – Suite 101
Toledo, OH 43615
419/539-9180

The CCAO Solar Savings Initiative Program offers two excellent benefits by providing a pricing hedge against future electric energy costs and utilizing green energy through solar generation.

Over 50 counties have expressed interest and submitted letters of intent to participate in this program which will provide a fixed price for electric energy for a minimum of a twenty-year period.

Counties will consider allocating between 20-25% of their electric load to the program which will allow them to have load available for other opportunities that may develop in the future, enter into other renewable hedges or purchase power from newly emerging scalable energy generation sources under the program.

The CCAO Solar Power Purchase Program will allow a county to fix a competitive price obtained during this current very low electric market for a long period of time to maximize savings potential for the county and significantly benefit of your constituents. This program utilizes Palmer Energy as its manager.

For further information, please contact:

County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation
John Leutz
CCAO Assistant Director
209 East State Street
Columbus, OH  43215-4309
614/221-5627 or 888/757-1904
Fax 614/221-6986 or

Kirkland Mizerek
Vice President
Palmer Energy Company
5577 Airport Highway – Suite 101
Toledo, OH 43615
419/539-9180

CCAOSC WORKERS’ COMP GROUP RETROSPECTIVE RATING PLAN

Group Retrospective Rating (“Group Retro”) is a performance-based incentive program designed to reward a group of similar employers who are effectively managing safety and workers’ comp claims. This reward is in the form of rebates which are based upon the group achieving lower than average claims experience in a given year. Group Retro guidelines are outlined in OAC 4123-17-73 and 68.

Each group is organized through a BWC-certified sponsor who is responsible for screening potential group retro members based upon safety and claims management criteria established by the Group. The group sponsor must provide education and communication to group members on safety and reducing workplace injuries, and must submit a safety plan each year to be approved by the BWC.

Group retrospective rating member employers initially pay their individual experience rated premium to the BWC as if they were not in a retro group. The total of the individual premiums for the group members is the “standard premium” of the group. 12 months after the end of the policy year, the BWC will calculate the group retrospective premium, based upon developed incurred claim losses of the entire group. The BWC will then compare the group retrospective premium to the standard premium. If the retrospective premium is lower than the standard premium, group members will receive a rebate of the difference. If the retrospective premium is higher, each group member will be charged an assessment to cover the shortfall. This calculation is done again at 24 and 36 months, providing a financial incentive for group members to continuously work on safety and claims management.

Since 2010, the CCAOSC Group Retrospective Rating Plan has saved member counties millions of dollars. Members must meet the group’s underwriting guidelines and agree to implement the Group’s written Safety and Claims Management Expectations.

CCAO contracts with Sedgwick to administer the Group Retro Plan. Sedgwick is an endorsed CCAOSC program partner. For further information, please contact:

Tony Sharrock | Director Client Services
614.376.5450 | Fax 614.790.8210
Tony.Sharrock@sedgwick.com
www.sedgwick.com/ohiotpa |

Elizabeth Miller, Esq.
CORSA Claim and Litigation Manager
County Commissioners Association of Ohio
209 East State Street
Columbus, OH 43215-4309
614/220-7989 or 888/757-1904 x 205
Fax 614/220-0209

Safety Information 10 Step Safety Plan for County Government – Action Plan

CCAO Group Retro Safety & Claims Management Expectations

Group Rating Safety Accountability Letter

For regular long distance calling, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation (CCAOSC) also offers a discount long distance program for county government. Counties can save substantial funds using a discount long distance service. In addition, if a county uses AT&T or Verizon for their local landline service they can also reduce these costs as a result of wholesale invoicing. In addition to the savings, counties also benefit from services such as six-second incremental billings, accounting codes, fiber optics technology, conference calling, calling cards and 1-800 service.

First Communications is an endorsed CCAOSC program partner.

For further information, please contact:

Aaron Johnson

Enterprise Account Executive

First Communications
3440 W. Market Street
Akron, OH  44333
330/835-2244 or 800/860-2934
Fax 866/672-0810

County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation
John Leutz
CCAO Assistant Director
209 East State Street
Columbus, OH  43215-4309
614/221-5627 or 888/757-1904

As more daily functions of county business are centered on computers and the web for storing and sharing information, the exposure to inefficient processes and potential security threats increases. CCAOSC has identified a need to assist counties with their IT needs with an emphasis on being placed on security so counties can better address the vulnerabilities of their IP networks.

CCAOSC has endorsed HG Consulting, LLC (HGC) to carry out our Cyber Assessment Program. HGC addresses cyber systems and cyber security by offering counties a wide range of cyber services now, including our signature external vulnerability scan and an informative, simple to read, follow-up report. This scan will look at a county’s external vulnerability and provides a detailed rating for vulnerabilities in your different platform areas.

Additionally, HGC offers the following cyber program services to counties at a discounted price to help address various levels of IT needs.

vCIO

Many small and mid-sized counties find it difficult to justify having a chief Information officer (CIO) on staff to plan, budget and manage their every changing IT initiatives. A virtual CIO (vCIO) is a business expert who understands how to strategically apply technology to support the county organization and focus on business and IT alignment so costs go down and productivity and simplification go up.

The role of the vCIO is designed to take the pressure off the county leadership team by providing your organization with just the right amount of ongoing strategic IT guidance.

• Organizations that engage in vCIO services see the following benefits:
• Improved visibility and control over technology investments and expenditures
• A more stable IT infrastructure
• IT initiatives that are aligned with business goals
• Improved Security Posture
• IT Roadmap

Internal Vulnerability Scan & Assessment

While strong external security is paramount, savvy attackers have found ways to circumvent the firewall and other border protection devices. They often do so through client-side attacks, such as enticing users to click a link, open an infected document, and/or leading them to the attacker’s malicious website. Organizations must develop strong layers of internal security to prevent these attacks.

Our Internal Vulnerability Assessment will test and analyze a cross-section of the network that is typical or representative sample of a network whole. This cross-section will provide network administrators with information on how their internal systems could be compromised if an attack is able to circumvent perimeter defenses.

Network Best Practices Assessment

A county-wide network assessment provides a quick snapshot of the current network with an examination of the infrastructure, performance, availability, management and security. That information is utilized for making effective strategy recommendations and design proposals to the county concerning specific information systems modifications before implementing wireless network equipment or any other upgrades needed.

General IT Infrastructure & Security Consulting

Our IT consultants are familiar with the latest technologies and the best practices used to implement them. They have County operations in mind. Our IT consultants are able meet with the county to help determine the best technology to implement and then are able to help procure, design and install the solution. Our Professional Services team is intended to be an extension of your own county, an asset for you to utilize as needed to help you achieve success in an evolving environment. The expertise that we bring to the table will assist your technology teams with technology projects large or small.

HG Consulting, LLC is an endorsed CCAOSC program partner. HG Consulting is an independent IT expert corporation located in central Ohio that will not be upselling additional services to the county.

For further information about any CCAOSC service program, please contact:

County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation
John Leutz
Legislative Counsel
209 East State Street
Columbus, OH  43215
614/221-5627 or 888/757-1904
Fax 614/221-6986 or

Or contact Hamilton Gottschall at HG Consulting directly:

Hamilton Gottschall
President
HG Consulting, LLC
1339 Mentor Drive
Westerville, OH 45242
614/259-8798

Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC) is a third-party administrator (TPA) based in Madison, Wisconsin, with a heavy focus on flexible spending accounts (FSA) or Section 125 Cafeteria plan FSAs. They have been in business for over 40 years and are the largest privately held TPA in the country. They have over 80,000 clients and over 1 million participants they serve. TASC serves the public sector market as well as the private sector and has many Ohio governments including Ohio counties. The largest client public sector client they serve is the federal government along with The Ohio State University, and many other small to large private and public groups.

The FSA that TASC is offering to CCAO member counties is the best FSA in the industry, with members enjoying a 10 percent discount on fees making them ultra-competitive with some of the best fees in the nation. The FSA covers medical expenses including chiropractic and psychiatric care, dental expenses, vision expenses including contacts, daycare expenses, transportation expenses and parking expenses.  The tools available to county employees are smart card debit cards, apps for phones, an easy to navigate web site, and both fax and mail capabilities.

The FSA in general is a winner for everyone. County employees enjoy federal, state and their portion of FICA tax (Medicare) savings. The county also saves the portion they pay per employee in FICA (Medicare) taxes. The county savings in matching taxes more than cover the fees the county pays which makes the program virtually free. Flex plans have been around since the 70’s, and those savings have been huge for counties and employees. Today, the newer technologies have made FSAs very easy to use, and as a CCAO Preferred Provider endorsed company, the 10 percent savings makes it even better.

For more information, contact

Mark J. Miehl
Vice President of NorthEast Group Sales
Total Administrative Services Corporation
2302 International Lane
Madison, WI 53704-3140
800-422-4661 ext. 8861
Fax 608/316-6048

John Leutz
Legislative Counsel
209 East State Street
Columbus, OH  43215-4309
614/221-5627 or 888/757-1904
Fax 614/221-6986