Town insurance to be considered again tonight

A long-simmering dispute over the town's liability insurance could come to a head at tonight's Town Council meeting. 

The council is scheduled to again consider approving a bidder for the liability insurance contract, which has turned into a drawn-out process with testy exchanges before the council during previous discussions. 

The town has been buying its insurance coverage brokered by Miller Insurance, owned by Councilman Ohmer Miller and Jake Miller. Last month, Jake Miller presented the council with six bidders for the coverage, but a seventh bidder had not completed its bid and the council opted to extend the deadline. That led to a dispute between Miller, Clerk-Treasurer Diane Burton and council members over whether or not Miller Insurance had given the unnamed seventh bidder all of the information that it needed. Or whether that was Burton's responsibility.

Miller said the process had turned unprofessional and unreasonable. Council member Clyde Compton took issue with Jake Miller's comments.

At a special meeting earlier this month, the bids were opened. But Compton and Miller Insurance clashed again. Compton said that he had done research which showed that the council could chose one of the bids brokered by Miller Insurance, and then opt out of using Miller as the broker. Although Compton said he would prefer a local broker, the previous confrontation had soured him on Miller Insurance.

Ohmer Miller agreed that changing brokers after the bid work was done was possible and an action that is guaranteed under laws regarding insurance. But he also cautioned that if the council undercut his company in that way, Miller Insurance would never work on another bid for the town.

Ohmer Miller has abstained from votes on insurance issues, due to the conflict of interest.

Town Council meets at 5:30 p.m. today. The agenda for the meeting is available here.