Pump Station Property Coverage

OMAG staff has worked hard over the last few years to ensure that our members have adequate property coverage.  We utilize in-house appraisal software for buildings and have an ongoing appraisal partnership with HCA for professional appraisals on plants and buildings.

Over the last couple of years, we have seen an increase in pump station claims typically due to lightning.  While lightning is the most prevalent peril, pump stations can be susceptible to flood, wind, and ice.  We understand that if a pump station sustains a loss, it can have a significant impact on the city.  This is why it is so important to make sure you have adequate coverage.

First thing you want to do is look at your most recent OMAG property schedule and make sure that all your pump stations are covered. Next, you want to make sure that there is adequate coverage for each pump station.  After reviewing your schedule, if you notice any pump stations that are not scheduled or ones that appear to be underinsured, please contact the OMAG Underwriting Department. We will make sure that your pump stations get added and limits are adequate as soon as you contact us.

We know that insurance is one of many things that our members have to keep track of so please let us help you.  If you feel that an in-person visit is needed to discuss pump stations or any other coverages, please contact our Insurance Services Department.  They have vast knowledge of our coverages and are more than happy to come visit with you!

Neighbor helping Neighbor

Have you ever borrowed something from a neighbor? Do you share something with a friend or family member?

 Have you thought of sharing with your neighboring town? What if, several municipalities were to get together and share in the purchase of a sewer jetter? An interlocal agreement could be reached between multiple entities.

 For example, 4 municipalities agree to purchase a jetter, with each taking advantage of the OMAG Sanitary Sewer Equipment Grant. A new single axle 400-gallon jetter is around $65,000. This breaks down to $16,250 for each of the 4 Municipalities. After the approval for an OMAG Sanitary Sewer Equipment matching grant up to 10k your cost is now $8,125, much more achievable than going alone.

 Indoor location for winter storage/Maintenance/Repair costs/Emergency’s/Weekly rotating schedule all can be worked out with and interlocal agreement, which OMAG can assist in creating.

  A good question to ask yourself. In a year how much would you be able to clean and improve your system? During the week of use, 8,000 to 10,000 linear feet of line could be cleaned, and over time that number will increase. In year you could clean 96,000 linear feet of sewer line on a 4-week rotation. You also could take part of your scheduled week and use it for preventive maintenance such as root treating known areas.

 Without a jetter you are unable to clean lines or maintain them. You must rely on others to assist when you have a SSO or backup. Without maintenance and cleaning your system slowly continues to build up debris in the lines.

 There are over 500 towns with a population less than 5,000 people, this is a way for you to team up with other towns to become better stewards of your wastewater system asset.

 It is only through sharing and working together can this be achieved with many small municipalities.  Don’t discount this or other similar ideas to provide you with a cost-effective way to care for your sanitary sewer system.

Safety News: Hearing Protection

Approximately 22 million American workers suffer from some sort of hearing loss. Once you lose, even partial, hearing you can’t get it back. To help prevent hearing damage to workers on the job, you need to take steps to assess noise levels in the work environment, and institute administrative, engineering, and PPE (personal protective equipment) practices for your municipality.

Administrative Controls:

First, determine what work areas or types of work create unacceptable noise levels. Areas like rooms with loud machines or workers using mowers, weed eaters, and jackhammers. Most everybody has a smartphone nowadays; some apps can be downloaded onto a phone that gives very accurate decibel readings. Any work area or job where a worker is exposed to 85 decibels or more in 8 hours must have a Hearing Conservation plan. Second, the workers need to be advised of these hearing hazards and trained on how to protect themselves from the hazards. Third, signs need to be placed in hearing hazard work areas and on equipment reminding workers to take precautions, like wearing appropriate hearing protection. Finally, employers must provide hearing protection and any required engineering controls. Employers can also seek assistance in determining if employees have hearing issues by having them tested. Many of our Oklahoma Career Techs have mobile hearing testing units they can bring to your municipality.

Engineering Controls:

Noisy work environments may need to have special sound-reducing wall and floor materials installed, or doors to dampen sound. Signs must be placed in obvious areas to warn of hearing hazard conditions.

PPE (personal protective equipment):

Workers required to wear PPE in the form of earplugs or earmuffs must be supplied with this equipment at no cost to themselves. This PPE must be readily accessible and come in several different types (disposable earplugs, re-useable earplugs, and earmuffs); individuals have different tastes and comfort levels. Employees need to be trained about how to use and maintain the pipe. Supervisors are responsible for making sure workers are properly using their PPE and following safety procedures when working in high-noise rooms or with high-noise equipment.

A worker’s compensation claim for hearing loss can be very expensive, and other dangers to workers and co-workers alike can increase the risk of injury or damage to equipment. At least do the basics – determine where high noise situations are, provide controls, and provide PPE, and supervise its use, to protect your workers.

BodyCam and DashCam Cloud Services Might Be Worth the Cost

Police departments are hesitant to spend thousands of dollars a year to use Axon or Watchguard’s cloud services to store their data. The services are pricey and police departments often find they can build their own solutions on-site for less, even just storing bodycam videos on removable hard drives or an extra PC. 

OMAG wants departments to reconsider the cloud. These services are hosted online in always-on top-tier data centers around the country and protected from threats like hackers and tornadoes. 

The cloud storage allows an officer to dock their bodycam and the video is automatically uploaded without any manual steps. From there, the cloud software reminds the officer to flag and retain video that may have been part of an incident, while alerting supervisors about officers that need to flag their videos. Videos not related to an incident are automatically expired and deleted, saving storage space. When the time comes to redact, edit, or share a video, there are built-in tools that make this process easier for a Chief or PIO. Most importantly, these systems are redundantly backed up in the cloud and protected against crashes or tornadoes, stored according to CJIS compliance requirements, and secure from hackers and viruses. Plus, you’re upgraded automatically by the vendor, so you never have to upgrade servers again. 

All of this is audited and logged so that each video adheres to chain of custody and follows federal and State standards. 

Dashcam and bodycam is digital evidence. Much like physical evidence must be properly cared for, digital evidence needs its own “locker” and to adhere to chain of custody and auditing requirements. On-site, these systems are more complex to manage, if you even have the right software. While you might save money, you won’t save time, and you may not be compliant either.

OMAG's Police Liability Update (May 2023)

OMAG In Action (Volume 5)

Spring Claims Reductions

Spring is around the corner. As we enter this season with excitement about more daylight and warmer weather, we also see our members encounter seasonal exposures. As we get into the stormy season, we know that more mowing and weed eating will be occurring on City properties and right of ways. We typically see an increase of claims for damages caused by mowers/weed eaters throwing rocks or debris. Make sure to point the blower from the mower and the weed eater away from roadways or parking areas or wait until these areas are not as congested.

Also, with additional rainfall expected make sure to check newly filled areas where road work has occurred, as well as clear out debris from storm water grates to minimize chances of a roadway or property being flooded.

Do Your Citizens Know to Call the City BEFORE Incurring Plumbing Charges????

Most citizens who file claims for reimbursement of plumbing charges are unaware that they must notify the City before incurring those charges or they will not be reimbursed the plumbing bill even if the issue is with the city’s sewer line.  When should they contact the City/Town to report a sewer issue? 

• If they see, hear, or smell anything that may be a sewage overflow or backup.

• Hear gurgling noises from the toilets or drains

• Notice a strong sewer smell but see no evidence of a sewage backup or overflow

• Experience slow drains throughout the house

These are all signs that the city’s sewer main line may be about to back up or overflow.  Citizens should be advised to call the City’s emergency number or the non-emergency police department number so that the person on call can be contacted.  If the work crew determines there is no issue in the city’s sewer line, the homeowner will then need to contact a plumber to determine if there is an issue in the house line. 

Problem items that contribute to sewer backups and blockages include:

• Disposable or “flushable” wipes

• Condoms, feminine products (tampons), and other personal hygiene products

• FOG – fats, oils and grease.  These materials harden and create blockages both in the house line and the main sewer line.  Running hot water and soap down the drain DOES NOT prevent grease build-up and blockages. 

·         Food scraps.  Anything with a fat content can contribute to grease-clogged pipes.  Wipe all greasy, oily, creamy, or buttery food residue from dishes before you wash them.

The City’s sanitary sewer department cleans miles of sanitary sewer lines each year but they still need the citizens to help in preventing sewer overflows.

PUMP for Nursing Mother's Act

The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act was passed in December 2022; it becomes effective April 28, 2023.  Under the PUMP Act, employers must provide all nursing mothers 1) a reasonable break time to express breast milk; and 2) a private location, other than a restroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion. Nursing mothers are covered by the PUMP Act for up to one year after childbirth. Employers with fewer than 50 employees are excused from coverage only if compliance would impose an undue hardship on the employer’s business.

The PUMP Act also contains a mandatory reporting provision that requires an employee to notify her employer if she believes the employer is non-compliant with the PUMP Act. The employer then has 10 days from the date of notification to remedy the situation. An employer waives the 10-day notification period if the employee is terminated for making the request or opposing the employer’s refusal to gain compliance.

Dealing with Difficult Employees

Dealing with difficult employees – a challenge leaders consistently share with me. It’s a simple but painful problem that has plagued leaders since the beginning of time.

The first step toward solving this challenge is to ask is “have I done everything I can to help the difficult employee?” Based on my work with leaders at all levels, the answer to that question is usually a resounding ‘no.’ Here’s what I mean.

Most managers react the same way when realizing one of their people is a problem. They find someone to share their frustration. On a courageous day, the leader might make a subtle comment to the difficult employee, or if timing is lucky, include something in an upcoming employee review.

What leaders rarely do is sit down with that employee to clearly set expectations, clarify those expectations through regular touchpoints, and give feedback about what’s going well and what’s not.

As ridiculously obvious as that sounds from the outside looking in, it rarely happens. Leaders (and others for that matter) don’t relish the idea of delivering feedback, especially when it has to do with difficult behavior. Instead, leaders hesitate, procrastinate, even abdicate their responsibilities, hoping that the situation will somehow change on its own. Guess what? It rarely does. And by not responding, the leader is essentially sending the message that the difficult behavior is acceptable.

Consider this, feedback is a gift. Whether it’s positive and encouraging or it directs change. The difficult employee likely is unclear about what’s expected, or unaware of how their behavior is difficult. Taking time to have a candid conversation, while encouraging the team member positions you to do everything you can to help difficult employee become successful. And that’s what you want, right? For help with difficult conversations, reach out to Professional Development and Training Analyst Lori Mueller.