News : Vinton employee seatbelt rule: City may be forced to fire first-time offenders

A driver in Vinton was caught not using his seatbelt this month, and the citation could prove very costly.

That driver did not get a ticket, but his employer – the City of Vinton – may face repercussions for his action.

During Thursday’s council meeting, City Administrator Chris Ward shared a letter from the Iowa Municipalities Workers’ Compensation Association, the group which provides the required Workers Compensation insurance that covers city employees.

The letter was from Dean Schade, the senior loss control representative at IMWCA.

“On Dec. 01, 2015, Jeff Hovey, director of risk services, and I were driving through Vinton and we observed a city pickup with a driver not wearing a seatbelt,” Schade wrote. “We followed the driver for several blocks to ensure that the employee was not on a route. We then proceeded to City Hall and reported our findings.”

The letter that Schade wrote to Ward indicated that the city needs to reply by Dec. 21, to explain how it will respond to this.

Ward told the council that the IMWCA wants the city to adopt a very strict policy of “one and done,” meaning that being caught without using a seatbelt just once is grounds for dismissal.

And, says Ward, if the city does not adopt that policy, it may lose its ability to participate in the IMWCA insurance program, possibly leaving the city with no other worker's compensation insurance options.

The city’s elected officials balked at the “one-and-done” policy.

Council member Zach Parmater said he would like to see a three-step policy, with a written warning for the first offense, a one-week unpaid suspension for a second violation, and termination for a third offense.

Mayor John Watson said he agreed with Parmater’s plan, and added that the city’s union agreement may come in conflict with a one-and-done policy. But he wondered if the IMWCA would accept that proposal.

Ward will be in contact with the IMWCA to see if they would accept a less stringent policy.

The seatbelt issue comes as the city was already facing a large increase in its annual workers’ compensation premium. Because of a variety of issues, including a serious accident involving a Vinton Municipal Electrical Utility employee, the city’s rate of $62,000 will increase by $50,000 to $80,000 more next fiscal year.

Mayor Watson suggested inviting members of the VMEU Board to participate in city budget talks as they face this increased expense.