Garza County has been awarded a 2006 Safety Award by the Texas Association of Counties and other local governments.

 

The award was earned for Garza County's record of involvement and commitment to safety in the workplace, as well as for controling their Worker's Compensation claims.

 

The honor meant that Garza County, which participates in the counties' pool throught TAC, is obtaining substantial savings for their taxpayers as a relsult of their TAC Workers' Comp coverage.  Premiums are minimized for public entities that have lowered their claims rates and participate in other coverages through the self-insurance pool administered by TAC.

 

To qualify for this honor, the entity must have a safety program rated in the top 15 percent of approximately 300 governmental entities that collectively self-insure their Workers' Compensation in this pool.  Only 38 entities were honored this year with this award.

 

These programs are evaluated by the Texas Association of Counties Safety Specialists who work with each pool member to develop loss control and safety programs.

 

In the evaluation of the programs, the following criteria are considered:

 

* Safety Program elements in place;

   

* Activity and success of program in the 2006 calendar year;

 

* Support for the program by the upper management, governing board or commission that directs the operations of the entity;

 

* Recent loss history; and

 

* Improvement in the safety program since 2005.

 

The TAC Safety Awards are presented annually.