Another cost of chaos
The city’s insurer has decided to cut ties with Saratoga Springs.
An insurance company is saying goodbye to Saratoga Springs. Few would blame it.
City government, after all, has devolved into an ugly mess marked by bickering, bombast, insults, allegations and indignities. We might say it’s the kind of behavior you’d expect from seventh-graders, except that would be unfair. Middle-schoolers generally know better.
Travelers Property Casualty Co. will end its coverage effective at the start of January. In a letter, the company says it will not renew its policy because “Saratoga Springs’ approach to risk and safety management creates an unacceptable risk in the hazards contemplated by the city.” The letter has, of course, resulted in yet more bickering. At this point, what else would you expect?
Mayor Ron Kim, a Democrat elected in 2021 and running for a second term, blames the insurance company’s decision on the previous administration and on police department actions that have resulted in a lawsuit filed by Black Lives Matter activists and an investigation by the attorney general’s office. “The reasons are pretty clear why they’re doing this,” Mr. Kim said of Travelers. “We are facing significant liability from the previous administration.”
Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino disagrees. Also a Democrat, he blames the insurance discontinuation on Mr. Kim’s move to replace former Director of Risk and Safety Marilyn Rivers and to hand her responsibilities to an assistant city attorney. “It’s pretty clear,” Mr. Montagnino said. “We had a risk and safety director for decades.”
Despite the dueling “pretty clear” claims, the real answer likely rests in the middle of both explanations. Or perhaps Travelers has taken note of the many examples of city government failing to function. Where does one even begin?
The ongoing tensions between Mr. Montagnino’s department and the mayor are probably a good place to start. While Mr. Kim has rightly criticized the commissioner for seeking criminal charges against BLM activists who disrupt City Council meetings, the mayor also lashed Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety Jason Tetu with an unprofessional, profanitylaced tirade.
Meanwhile, Ms. Rivers has filed a notice of claim against both Mr. Kim and Mr. Montagnino. She claims that the men created a hostile work environment and that she was victimized by “malicious and false accusations” during debate over an insurance settlement with a city engineer who said he was fired for supporting the wrong candidate for commissioner of public works.
The former employee settled the case for $100,000, but in February Mr. Kim demanded that the $25,000 insurance premium due to, yes, Travelers be removed from a list of payments for city vendors. The mayor asserted that he and other Saratoga Springs officials did not know the city was settling the case.
Confused? So is just about everybody in the audience for this circus. What’s obvious, however, is that all of this infighting is not good for the city.
Mr. Kim said the city expects to have a new insurer selected by November. Saratoga Springs won’t go without insurance, he pledges. But city taxpayers will likely pay about $800,000 more — nearly double the current insurance amount.
Dysfunction comes with costs, in other words. That was clear even before Travelers decided to walk away from Saratoga Springs.