TUPPER LAKE - So far, Tupper Lake has paid $37,584.10 for the town's insurance policies in 2008. Ron Belleville of Belleville & Associates told the town board Thursday how he is trying to save the town money on its insurance, and recommended dropping coverage in some areas and picking up more in others.

The town is insured through the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal. The Colonie-based company insures hundreds of towns throughout the state and is expanding - it picked up 19 new ones this year.

Belleville, who is the town's local broker, said NYMIR dropped $8,000 from the town's premiums this year after it heard the town was shopping around for a different insurer. Overall, he said, the town's premiums will not go up in 2009 and may decrease slightly.

Belleville said he went through the town's insurance policies and dropped some duplicating coverage. For example, he saved the town $4,800 by eliminating duplicating coverage of some of the town's equipment. Belleville also reviewed a list of the town's equipment with highway Superintendent Mark LaVigne and made sure it was all covered at fair market value.

"Some were pretty overinsured," he said.

Also, he said, the town was paying for insurance coverage on things it no longer had. He said three pump houses at the country club were insured, even though there are only two. The town also had insurance on a pump house on Lake Simond that was no longer in use. Belleville dropped the coverage of these two pump houses.

Some of the town's buildings, he said, were insured for far more than they are worth. One example he cited was the garage at the country club, which was insured for $186,000. Belleville dropped it to $100,000. Other buildings needed more coverage - for example, the clubhouse at the country club is worth $620,000 but was only insured for $521,000. Belleville raised this to $600,000.

"Sounds like you did a good job," said town Supervisor Roger Amell.

The board discussed getting insurance coverage for the grinder pumps in the town's two sewer districts. Belleville said it would cost $2,900 per year to add them to the town's insurance. However, these are owned and maintained by the people of the districts and not the town, and board members said they didn't think they should unilaterally add them to the town's insurance.

"If a pump fails, they're the ones that pay for it," said town Councilman Jay Skiff. "The town doesn't pay if one of them goes down. I don't think we can take this policy and then assess the district (for the $2,900)."

The $2,900 would work out to an extra $90 annually per taxpayer in the districts. Skiff said covering them did sound like a wise idea, given the low amount the coverage would cost.

"I can't see anybody up there that would balk at it," he said.

The board will take the question up at a later date.

Belleville had a number of suggestions. For example, he recommended checking the driving histories of the people of the Franklin County Smowmobile Club who groom the town's snowmobile trails.

"It could come back at the town," he said. "It's your vehicle they're operating."

He also recommended keeping a certificate of insurance from the Franklin County Snowmobile Club on file.

Contact Nathan Brown at 891-2600 ext. 26 or nbrown@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.