By Mandy Martin
CRAMAHE Twp. — Cramahe Twp. council has gone with the higher of two bids submitted to act as the municipality’s insurance broker.
Earlier this year, Deputy mayor Sandra Arthur pushed to have the brokerage service put to tender to ensure competitive pricing is in effect. Council directed staff to ask for quotes from potential insurance brokers.
Only two firms submitted quotes for a five-year term: WWD McGlennon Insurance Broker Ltd. ($32,000) of Colborne and McDougall Insurance Brokers Ltd. ($30,000). The McDougall bid was recommended for acceptance by the
An evaluation team of Cramahe CAO Craig Brooks, Treasurer Nicole Leach-Bihun and Director of Corporate Service/Clerk Julie Oram.
“I can’t go with this, for not going local, for the sake of $400 a year,” Councillor Ed Van Egmond said.
“We gotta start somewhere,” Councillor Tim Golligan said. “If you call only once or twice a year, $400 is a lot of money in a year. Everyone had the same chance to sharpen their pencil.”
“My concern is what do we get for our insurance?” Deputy Mayor Arthur asked. “When was the last time anyone came to do an inspection of the township? I believe we’ve been in a rut. It’s nice to be local, but we’ve got to go beyond that.”
Actual insurance costs could be a lot higher if using a different carrier, Coun. Van Egmond said.
“It could be a lot less,” the Deputy mayor countered.
Coun. Don Clark said Cowan Insurance had put on an insurance presentation at the Keeler Centre in the current council’s first year in office. However, Deputy mayor Arthur said, it was the same presentation made to municipal conferences — not unique to Cramahe.
When put to a vote, it was tied. Gilligan and Arthur for supporting the staff recommendation, while Van Egmond and Clark for opposing.
Mayor Marc Coombs voted to remain with McGlennon Insurance.
“We have gone out and did what we had to do,” Mayor Coombs said. “I’m glad we went through the process.”
