DECATUR - In a last-minute move, the Decatur City Council went against the recommendations of city staff and switched to a different company for handling the worker's compensation claims of city employees.

The decision leaves city staff members with only one day to complete several procedural changes.

The council voted for the change 5-1, with councilman Larry Foster the sole holdout and councilman Pat Laegeler absent from the voting. Foster had voiced his dissent repeatedly in the weeks leading up to the vote.

"I really don't see a reason to change," Foster said prior to the vote. "I'm going to continue supporting staff's recommendation."

New contracts with Decatur-based Behnke & Associates, which will replace Itasca-based Arthur J. Gallagher as the city's administrator of worker's compensation claim, must be written up and executed by the close of business today.

Staff must also figure out the means of funding claims and who will specifically handle claims by the end of business Wednesday.

The council twice postponed awarding the contract. City staff recommended extending Gallagher's contract, but council members stated dissatisfaction with the high cost and number of claims within the past few years.

Barry Leonard, former risk manager for the city, spoke to the council after lengthy presentations from both Behnke and Gallagher.

Leonard urged staff to continue with Gallagher due to that firm's lower cost, saying that brokers have little power to prevent the sort of unpredictable accidents that often result in worker's compensation claims.

Leonard also pointed out the city's work force is aging compared to other cities, which leads to injuries sidelining workers for longer amounts of time and requiring more medical care.

"The broker has little control," Leonard said. "Most city jobs are dangerous and physically demanding."

Following the lengthy discussion of the insurance issue, the city council heard a range of options from Keith Alexander, director of water management, regarding a possible new approach to the city's dredging operations.

Options ranged from $32 million to $35 million in cost and would take anywhere from 5 to 15 years to complete, Alexander said. Continuing with the city's current operations would take another 26 years at a cost of $44 million, Alexander said.

The city council will could decide on a course of action next month.

klowe@herald-review.com|421-7985