DATE: August 9, 2022
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Hollis Magill, Director of Human Resources
SUBJECT: Resolution increasing the minimum amount of claims that must be reviewed by the Claims Review Committee from $5,000 to $25,000
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Adopt a Resolution increasing the minimum amount of claims that must be reviewed by the Claims Review Committee from $5,000 to $25,000.
REPORT
Approving the recommend action would increase the threshold amount for claims reviewed by the Claims Review Committee from $5,000 to $25,000 and further clarify the responsibilities and advisory role of the Claims Review Committee ("CRC"). This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the Board does not approve the recommended action, current review thresholds would not be in line with inflation since the original Resolution was adopted in 1976.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action.
DISCUSSION:
The Board established the CRC in 1976, by Resolution No. 76-1117B. The membership of the CRC includes County Counsel or their designee, the CAO or their designee, a representative of the staff of any independent contractor retained to investigate claims, and, when the CAO deems it necessary, outside, independent legal counsel actively engaged in providing legal defense of the County against claims for damage.
Currently, the CRC is required to review each claim against the County, the payment of which is estimated to exceed $5,000. That dollar amount threshold was set in 1976 and is no longer practical, given the intervening several decades of inflation and the number of claims received by the County. Given the sheer number of claims that are filed against the County that are valued between $5,000 and $25,000, this requirement is untenable and creates unnecessary workload for staff.
Also, Fresno County Ordinance Code Chapter 5.02 provides the CAO and the Human Resources Director (HR Director) with Boar...
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