Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis said an upgraded emphasis on safety and regular inspection of all county buildings and work sites "is saving county taxpayers a lot of money."

The savings are seen in a reduced number of worker compensation claims and related costs, he said.

According to a report from Bill Boehm with the Local Government Insurance Pool in Nashville, Bradley County saved $125,334.00 in 2008 compared to 2007. This reflects a 47 percent overall drop in workers comp-related expense.

Mayor Davis said the cost of Workers Compensation Insurance is always a major annual expenditure which is mandated by state law. He said, “I am very pleased with the new procedures put in place by Bradley County Safety Director Jeff Gunter and County OSHA Coordinator Jerry Johnson. The results are safer work areas for the County’s 730 employees and reduced costs to the taxpayer.”

According to County Safety Department records, there was a 23 percent decrease in the number of worker compensation claims. The number dropped from 87 in 2007 to 67 in 2008.

County Mayor Davis said the highest risk jobs such as law enforcement and first responders tend to have the highest number of claims. “But those departments have made tremendous progress in reducing the number of job related accidents which resulted in reduced costs to the county.”

For example, in the 2007 insurance policy year the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department reported 49 workers compensation claims with $129,792 in associated costs. For the 2008 policy year, that department reduced its workplace accident claims to 32 with just $68,860 in related costs which is a 46 percent drop. The county road department was also able to reduce its number of claims and related costs from $10,258 in 2007 to just $343 in 2008. The County EMS Department also reduced its Workers Comp related costs from $74,951 to $34,265.

County Mayor Davis said these savings are the result of stepped up safety training, employee awareness and quarterly safety classes for all county departments and their employees. The safety director also inspects all 33 county building at least once a year for hazards which might result in an employee injury as well as potential fire and electrical problems.

The reports indicate that the county inspections have actually been more thorough than the state OSHA inspections which have resulted in fewer county citations from the state, he said.

County Mayor Davis called the new procedures “a win-win situation with fewer safety violations, safer work environments on county properties, and a substantial savings of taxpayer dollars.”

County Mayor Davis also issued a memo to all county department heads and elected officials informing them that he has allowed the freeze on county purchase orders to expire as planned on Monday. County Mayor Davis instituted the freeze Dec. 8 due to low revenue collections in November. Revenue picked up in December, but expected reduced revenue in January prompted the county mayor to extend the freeze until Feb. 2.

“With the holidays behind us I expect revenue collections to pick up,” County Mayor Davis said.

However, he renewed his request that all county departments voluntarily curtail spending by 10 to 20 percent between now and the end of the current fiscal year which is June 30.

He said that "every unspent dollar in this year’s budget will help make it possible for some kind of salary increase for employees in next year’s budget."