Council Report

City Council Report
Date: October 5, 2026
To: City Council
Through: Jim Smith, City Attorney
From: Sarah Steadman, Assistant City Attorney
Subject: Ordinance to modify City Code Title 1 (Administrative), Chapter 19 (City
Attorney), Section 1-19-3 (Additional Authority)
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of proposed modifications to City
Code Section 1-19-3 to codify and continue what Council approved via Resolution Nos.
11602 and 11888, which involved the purchase of insurance for the City through the
Property and Public Liability (PPL) Trust Fund. The proposed modifications to the City
Code were reviewed by the Self-Insurance Program Board of Trustees at its March 3,
2026, meeting, and the Board recommended adoption.
Background and Description of Proposed Changes
Insurance policies for municipalities generally can only be purchased on an annual basis
with annual renewals. Every November, the City obtains its insurance through the PPL
Trust Fund, including property, liability, excess liability, cyber risk, and aviation insurance.
The City contracts with an experienced national insurance broker to assist and represent
the City in selecting and procuring its insurance.
The insurance market for municipalities has been very challenging for a number of years
due to various factors. For example, several carriers that previously provided municipal
insurance have withdrawn from the market due to national factors like the increasing
number of lawsuits and litigation and settlement costs. Also, factors such as inflation,
natural disasters (floods, winter storms, fires) where carries have made a significant
payout, and challenges within the reinsurance market have affected carriers and
contributed to the lack of capacity. Additionally, the excess liability market for
municipalities will only provide quotes/indications for coverage near the end of the then-
existing policy period. Due to these and other market conditions, the City has often had
to make decisions on very short notice, sometimes at or very near the renewal deadline.
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Staff anticipates these factors will continue to affect the municipality insurance market
and the City’s ability to procure insurance for the foreseeable future.
Understanding this situation, Council authorized via resolutions in 2020 (Resolution No.
11602) and 2022 (Resolution No. 11888) the City Attorney, with approval of the City
Manager and through a national insurance broker, to modify and purchase the City’s
insurance coverages. The authority granted by Resolution No. 11888 expires on June
30, 2027.
The flexibility provided by the resolutions was critical to the City being able to procure the
amount of excess liability coverage needed. Staff proposes to continue the same process
that has been in place since 2020 under Resolution Nos. 11602 and 11888 by codifying
it in the City Code rather than bringing a resolution to Council every few years.
Therefore, staff proposes modifications to City Code Section 1-19-3 to include a
subsection authorizing the City Attorney, through the City’s contracted national insurance
broker and with approval of the City Manager, to modify and purchase the City’s insurance
with funds from the PPL Trust Fund. The proposed modifications to the City Code are
substantially the same as the authority Council previously granted via resolutions in 2020
(Resolution No. 11602) and 2022 (Resolution No. 11888). An addition to the City Code
that was not included in the prior resolutions is to require the City Attorney to annually
provide a report to the Self-Insurance Program Board of Trustees, in addition to annually
updating Council, regarding the City’s insurance obtained with funds from the PPL Trust
Fund.
Recommendation
Staff recommends adoption of the proposed ordinance. By adopting the proposed
ordinance, staff anticipates that the City will be in a better position to navigate market
conditions, negotiate favorable terms, and manage the cost of the City’s insurance by,
among other things, potentially purchasing a lower amount of excess liability insurance,
changing carriers, and/or adjusting the City’s self-insured retention.
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