City saves 12% on insurance following KLC audit

The City of Franklin has reduced its property and casualty insurance costs by 12 percent following an audit that shows significant improvements compared to previous performance.

Conducted by the Kentucky League of Cities in March, the Loss Control Services audit is the final assessment before the city's Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget begins. The audit, performed every three years, is a prerequisite for submitting Franklin's formal request to KLC for property and casualty insurance coverage rates.

KLC is the largest municipal insurance carrier in Kentucky, offering property, liability, and workers' compensation coverage through a member-owned pool.

According to KLC, Loss Control Service audits are specialized evaluations designed to help city governments and municipal agencies reduce insurance claims and enhance workplace safety.

The review process for Franklin focused on implementing operational best practices to enhance community safety. Through a combination of site visits and data analysis, KLC consultants provided city officials feedback to improve loss prevention and assist in risk control efforts.

City manager Kenton Powell assigned Chief Roger Solomon to oversee the city-wide compliance audits, noting Solomon's proven track record with law enforcement audits for the Franklini Police Department.

"It has been a very time-consuming process, but in the end, it has been rewarding seeing the audit scores go up so much in the last six months," said Solomon. "The good news is that the scores on these audits will reduce our property and casualty insurance costs by 12%, so that is a very good thing for our city."

Powell did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding the improved audit scores.

The KLC audit assessed the city's risk management in four key areas: business auto, public official, general liability, and sewer.

Since an initial loss control audit in September 2025, an updated review in November, and a final loss control audit in March 2026, the City of Franklin has demonstrated significant improvement across nearly all four categories.

Business auto drastically increased from 20.83% in September to 87.5% in November, reaching a perfect 100% in March.

General liability pretty much doubled from 44.58% in September to 81.25 in November, increasing to 91.87% in March.

Public official held steady at 80% from September through November, before jumping to 95% in March.

Sewer maintained a consistent 70% throughout the review process.

After the initial September audit, Solomon said Powell asked him to work on improving the city's overall scores.

According to Solomon, achieving these results required close collaboration with city department heads to address site-specific improvements. "They all looked at it the same as me, and that was to continue to make this the best city to work for and to be proud of the improvements we have all made along the way," said Solomon.

Public Works Director Trent Coffee collaborated with Solomon and other department leaders on the list of safety improvements recommended by the KLC auditor. "It was helpful to have an outside individual evaluating the facilities and helping us understand where we can improve safety for our employees," said Coffee.

Key improvements at different sites addressed by the team included installing more direct signage, eliminating trip hazards, and ensuring OSHA compliance, as well as organizing equipment and securing the proper storage of chemicals.

They also reviewed and updated various forms and procedures, including driver training, vehicle maintenance logs, safety and fleet management practices, at-will employee statements, and compliance with drug and alcohol testing.

Additionally, they implemented a safety team for the city to ensure compliance with legal procedures, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, and city policies.

Solomon clarified the minor deductions in the final audit percentages were due to specific KLC criteria rather than operational failures.

For example, the city missed a five-point credit in the area of Public official (95%) due to city commissioners being unable to attend a three-day KLC City Officials Academy conference.

On General liability (91.87%), Solomon said a 10-point deduction was applied because as chief, he cannot dedicate the KLC-mandated 50% of his working hours solely to loss control and compliance.

"In the future it would be very easy to have someone assigned as a risk and safety coordinator through the city and for the next set of elected officials to attend the COA and these scores could easily get to 100% in those other two categories by the next audit in three years," noted Solomon.

Additionally, Solomon explained that the consistent sewer score of 70% across all three audits was a strategic financial decision, noting that a single audit category accounts for the remaining 30%. "It would cost over $100,000 a year to make the improvement in that area on the audit and it is not something detrimental or required by law, so we did not want to burden taxpayers to improve an area that we didn't have to," said Solomon.

At a recent risk and safety conference in Owensboro, Solomon identified several new ways the city can further improve its protocols and compliance. "Those would be ADA, OSHA, inspections of our dam and playgrounds, confined spaces procedures and several other areas," said Solomon, adding, "This could all be accomplished with the oversight of a safety person and collaboration with all departments of the city."

Reflecting on Franklin's improved overall safety score, Solomon remarked, "The community should be proud of how far we have come on the KLC loss control services audit in such a short time, and knowing the procedures and practices we now have in place will continue to improve our community along the way."

Beverly Bragg can be reached by emailing [email protected].