Mayor signs contract he says saves money
In a vote of 3 to 1, the Century Town Council Tuesday night approved a decision Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. made that he calimed saved the town of Century $190,000 by making an executive decision to opt for less expensive workman’s comp and liability and insurance costs, he made without the council’s permission due to an Oct. 1, 2024 deadline.
Gomez said he has been researching the town’s contracts for about two months and is considering ways to save money.
“We looked into some price shopping and compared apples to apples for that same policy and coverage and we reached out to the Florida League of Cities (FLC),” said Gomez. “We came up with a combined total for all these coverages of worker’s comp and liability for $161,079.”
Gomez said as they were up against a deadline, he took the liberty to go with the Florida League of Cities, saving the town roughly $190,000.
“If I did something wrong, I’ll bite that,” said Gomez. “But we need to start revisiting these contracts rather than just let them linger. If I had waited to get yall’s approval, we would have been stuck for $352,000 for this next year. We are insured as of this morning at midnight with the Florida League of Cities.”
Gomez compared prices and said the town’s workman’s compensation insurance last year was $27,546 and property insurance was $189,566. This year, Gomez said the increase of those combined will be $134,000 for this year alone.
Councilwoman Shelisa McCall expressed concern as to what exactly that money covers. She asked to see exactly what the coverage involves. Gomez said he will produce that and show her, although McCall said there is nothing she could do about it since the deadline had passed and she said she wasn’t happy about that. She said it sounded to her like a rush decision was made at the last minute, which she thought may not be the best decision.
“The price difference is too much to be comfortable,” said McCall. “It feels like something is lacking in the new policy.”
Councilwoman Alicia Johnson and Councilwoman Dynette Lewis asked if there was any explanation why there was such a big increase in the costs from last year to this year. Gomez said he did not know why and there was no explanation. He said that big jump in price is what prompted him to start researching other options to see if the town could save money.
“I’m not confident that we have the same coverage because of the price difference,” said McCall.
Gomez said the coverage is exactly what the town had before for less money, suggesting that council members are welcome to call the FLC themselves.
“You take nearly $352,000 away from $161,000, I think that’s a substantial savings,” said Gomez. “That’s tax payers’ dollars I’m trying to conserve.”
Gomez said the town tends to sign a contract and not follow up to check and revisit on a regular basis, which can cost the town.
Councilman Henry Cunningham asked whose responsibility it is to review the town’s contracts and make sure deadlines are met. Councilwoman McCall said Gomez was responsible as mayor.
Gomez said his predecessors did not think it was important to review contracts and that’s why he decided to start researching.
Councilwoman Lewis said she didn’t think making decisions like Gomez made should be common practice, especially for $161,790. Councilwoman Johnson agreed and said she would not mind being called for a special meeting to address decisions like this to made and requested that happen for future situations, to which other council members agreed.
The council took time at the meeting to go over the new insurance policies that Gomez has chosen. Councilwoman McCall pointed out that although the two policies were very close, the new policy offered half for fire damage and comprehensive at $500,000 and the other policy was for $1 million each. She said the documents did not equally describe exactly what is covered in detail and disagreed that Gomez had compared apples to apples.
“It is my opinion that I trust our administration to compare apples to apples,” said Councilwoman Johnson. “It’s not going to be exactly the same with any two insurance companies but it is close enough that we as a town are protected.”
Councilwoman Johnson made a motion to approve, which was seconded by Councilman Henry Cunningham. Council members Johnson, Lewis and Cunningham voted yes. Councilwoman McCall voted no. Councilwoman Sandra McMurray Jackson was not present on the phone and did not reply.
In other business, the council:
-Approved Florida Light and Power’s request for a temporary easement for a ‘laydown yard’ where equipment can be stored through Dec. 31, 2024 for $10,000
The next meeting will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 15, at Century Town Hall. The public is invited.
