Jul 11, 2014 3 min read

Fireworks came a week later than usual in Washington during Thursday night’s City Council meeting.

The contentious debate centered on a rather mundane topic: which property liability and workers compensation provider the city should choose and why the current company easily dropped its quote by nearly 20 percent a week before the vote once a new bidder came in.

B&W Insurance of South Strabane Township submitted a bid of $154,997 July 2 after originally offering Washington a contract of $189,767, which was closer to what it charged the city in recent years. The only other bid, by Gallagher Risk Management Services, quoted the city a price of $162,640 April 14.

“I’m a bit disturbed … that it’s at the 11th hour,” Councilman Terry Faust said of B&W’s last-minute price reduction.

Councilman Joe Manning, who solicited the other bid from Gallagher, said he was baffled by the spontaneous price drop by B&W and wondered if the company had been overcharging the city for years when the annual contract was close to $200,000 last fiscal year.

“Either they were charging us exorbitantly or they began to pad their bill this year,” Manning said. “Somehow they got it down to the lowest level … when the final offer came in from the other company. So for that reason, it sends a red flag to me.”

That’s when the debate became testy between Manning and Mayor Brenda Davis. She said Gallagher offered less property liability coverage for a higher cost to the city and company representatives spoke only to Manning about the proposal.

Davis blamed the higher rates from B&W in recent years on “inadequate legal advice” from a previous solicitor that opened up the city to lawsuits. She added that the company has covered the city for nine years and that the newest plan is “ample coverage” compared to Gallagher.

“Yeah our rates went up. Damn right they went up,” Davis said of the previous insurance premiums. “So when we asked B&W why, they explained it to us.”

She took exception with Manning and Faust claiming they didn’t have time to review the bid or set up a meeting with the company. When Manning asked if he could respond, the clearly agitated mayor snapped back, cutting him off in mid-sentence.

“No, you had your turn,” Davis said. “I have the floor.”

She said B&W’s offer gives the city more protection and will cost it less if a public works vehicle or police cruiser is involved in a crash. It also would not cap payments to keep the municipal government running in the event the city building was destroyed by fire.

Council voted 3-2 to select B&W with Davis, Councilwoman Tracie Graham and Councilman Ken Westcott voting in favor. Manning and Faust voted against the decision.

Although he did not name him while speaking, Faust said he thought Westcott should have abstained from voting because he has business ties with B&W. Westcott explained his company uses B&W as its insurance provider, but he is not paid by them or have any other business interests with the company.