COUNTY EARNS $8,353 DIVIDEND

JACKSON -- Cape Girardeau County earned an $8,353 dividend from its workers' compensation insurance policy.

The county is part of the statewide Missouri Association of Counties, which operates a self-insurance workers' compensation pool for 86 member counties and seven county health departments.

"What we're really talking about is the return of taxpayer dollars," said Rodney Miller, Cape Girardeau County clerk and chairman of the association's insurance board of directors. "The key is that the member counties' dollars reserved to pay claims are sitting in their account. What is generally a profit incentive for an insurance company is now a savings for the counties that belong to the pool."

The check to Cape Girardeau County was part of an overall $500,000 dividend distribution to members enrolled in the insurance pool. The largest check, for $65,948, went to Jefferson County. The next largest, for $28,863, went to Greene County.

The fund began April 1, 1987, and is in its 10th year. It is managed by county elected officials, including Miller.

He said, "Emphasis on loss prevention, good safety programs, conscientious county officials taking an interest in their insurance pool -- all these things led to several exceptional years, so much so that to date we have been able to return over $2 million in dividends."

Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said: "What's so significant about this program is the emphasis on safety and loss prevention. It is our way of showing that we care for the well-being of our employees, not to mention the tax dollars that pay for it."