Commissioner's Corner

Now that I have six months under my belt, I thought I would give you an update about my new job and some of the things going on around Lincoln County.

Right after the first of the year the Board made a decision for the county to self-insure for medical insurance. This decision was made based on several factors. The pool that the county was previously in was experiencing drastic premium increases due in large part to excessive claims by some of its members. The general thought was, because of the current economic situation, a large number of employees were fearful of losing their jobs. This created somewhat of a panic situation where employees who may have put off elective surgeries and expensive procedures, now had a sense of urgency to resolve impending medical problems. The pool then became inundated with claims and had to off-set those with large premium increases.

Lincoln County by itself has always had an excellent experience rating when it comes to medical insurance for its employees. As an example, several years ago Lincoln County was part of another pool with several eastern counties. For various reasons, that pool was dissolved. Upon dissolution, Lincoln County received a large sum of money from the pool because it had paid in a larger portion than had been paid out in claims. That money had been set aside in savings and a portion was currently used to plant the seed for the new self-insurance program. Because of our excellent rating, I think this will be a great benefit to the county and its employees. If the pattern continues, it shouldn't be long until there are excess funds in that account. That money can then be used to offset future premium increases for the employees. Any excess funds in that account can only be used specifically for the benefit of the employees of Lincoln County. I am hopeful that this will be a great cost-saving program for our county for years to come. Getting this program up and running required a tremendous amount of team effort from the Deputy Clerk of the Board, the Commissioners, the Auditor's office and the Treasurer's office.

I recently received notice that I have been appointed by the Governor to the Emergency Medical Services/Trauma Care Steering Committee. This committee plays a huge roll in implementing policies through the Department of Health that govern how EMS provides services at the local level. I think it will be awesome for Lincoln County to have a seat at the table and a voice when the state decides on policies that dictate how our local EMS operates.

I have also been busy serving on various boards and committees including, Aging and Adult Care of Central Washington, Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board, Palouse-Coulee City Rail Authority and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee. Attending city council meetings throughout the county is something that I feel is important. Staying in touch with the communities is very beneficial to me and is something I will continue to do.

Speaking of staying in touch, I have recently started a Facebook page called Commissioner Rob Coffman. I think this will be a great way for the people to keep up on the current events happening in Lincoln County. This will also be beneficial as a different means of communicating with the people and to have the dialogue with those who wish to communicate electronically. So, please feel free to find me on facebook and don't forget to hit the like button!

People often ask, "How do you like your new job?" Well, I LOVE my new job! It is quite unlike any other job I have ever had in that there is always something new to do and learn. I expected there would be a pretty steep learning curve and I was right. There is so much to learn and so many challenges. I very much look forward to going to work every day and I can't even begin to tell you the sense of pride that I feel as I look up at our beautiful courthouse every time I walk in the door.