In a last-ditch effort to settle the disputed insurance claim stemming from March 2013 hail damage before bringing in a third party, an insurance adjuster told McComb city officials Tuesday that his company will take a second look at damaged buildings.
The city is considering hiring New Path Strategy Consultants to garner a higher claim from the freak storm.
EMC Insurance adjuster Tom Berry said his company will send another adjuster to inspect any buildings, building components or roofs the city requests.
“We’re here for you to do anything we can to make sure your claim is fairly settled,” Berry said.
The city has received approximately $154,000 from EMC for roof damages.
Mayor Whitney Rawlings said the sum will likely not cover the several damaged roofs.
“I don’t know that $154,000 will take care of the roofs,” he said.
City Administrator Quordiniah Lockley said the sum will barely cover one roof, judging by bids the city received.
“We bid it out to different companies,” Lockley said. “To replace the State Theater roof we may have enough money to do it and another building. The money we are receiving is not enough to replace all the roofs. We can’t do it all with that money. We will use almost all the money on the State Theater.”
Berry said the difference might stem from unrealistically high bids, not a low claim.
“I saw a couple of bids and they are just too high, sir,” he said.
Lockley said that while the claim goes unsettled there is leaking and mold in the State Theater. The Depot Museum and Martin Luther King Center buildings also have leaks.
New Path representatives spoke to the board in previous work sessions and said they can get a higher claim settlement from EMC. New Path also said EMC did not look at all potential hail damage to city property.
Berry warned that EMC may not pay the amount New Path finds.
“We owe you folks what we owe you,” he said.
Selectman at-large Tommy McKenzie asked what happens if the city pays New Path up to $100,000, then EMC won’t pay the New Path claim amount.
“Where would this board be if this third party comes and says there is $6 million in damage? That doesn’t mean you’re going to write the check,” he said.
Berry said if there is a claim dispute with a third party, EMC and New Path would both hire a “competent and impartial” claims representative. An umpire would also come in to mediate. If the umpire cannot reach a decision, then the claim would go to court.
The board will vote on hiring New Path during Monday’s board meeting. The meeting moved from its usual Tuesday slot to Monday in observance of Veterans Day Nov. 11.
In another matter, the board heard from Police Chief Scott McKenzie on the mandated need to update the police department’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer hardware to meet Windows 7 requirements.
Money would need to be “shuffled between police budget categories” to pay for the update, Rawlings said.
