the municipal secretary desktop reference manual - Southwestern ...

Risk Management Program - What Is It: A Guide for Elected Municipal Officials
The basic purpose of this handbook is to create awareness among local government officials of an
emerging administrative areaCrisk managementCwhich can have significant impacts upon local
governments' fiscal programs. This publication is not designed to make local officials, risk managers
or experts. Hopefully, however, with an awareness of the field, public officials can work more
effectively with those risk management professionals who posses the necessary expertise.
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.
SPECIAL NOTE
Within the past several years, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission=s Local Government
Projects Committee has publishedCor will publish within the next several monthsCa series of
handbooks on various municipal issues or problems. These publications are briefly described below.
The initial publication in the handbook series was one on intergovernmental relationsCGuide to
Lower Costs and Better Services Through Cooperation. It offers Anuts and bolts@ information
about various intergovernmental cooperative arrangements, with emphasis on councils of
government and joint purchasing plans.
Another manual in the series sets forth a number of guidelines for developing a municipal public
works safety program. The handbook is specifically designed for the small jurisdiction which cannot
afford a full-time safety officer. The recommended policy matters and guidelines propose the
assignment of safety duties as an additional duty to an employee who has other municipal duties.
A third issue in the series discusses factors to consider in obtaining comprehensive insurance
coverage. The manual evaluates municipal insurance coverage against a number of specifications
similar to those used by the insurance industry. Also included are a number of specific
recommendations dealing with securing appropriate insurance coverage.
A fourth manual deals with ways and means to institute a municipal risk management program, a
program often ignored by many boroughs and townships. The handbook describes risk management
as a broad three-step process: identifying risks, controlling risks, and evaluating the risk management
process.
The fifth publication explores various kinds of intergovernmental purchasing plans. Of particular
importance in this handbook is the section suggesting factors which municipal policy officials should
consider before making a commitment to participate in any intergovernmental purchasing plan.
The Projects Committee expects to publish before September 1997 a building inspector’s handbook
for small boroughs and townships. The publication will address the administrative aspects of the
inspection and enforcement process, with emphasis on the importance of employee competence and
cost savings through intergovernmental building inspection programs.
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