Gilroy council approves updated municipal insurance pooling agreement

The Gilroy City Council unanimously adopted a resolution approving an amended and restated joint exercise of powers agreement with the Municipal Pooling Authority, a shared insurance risk pool, after a staff presentation and a brief roll call vote.

Leanne, the city’s HR director and risk manager, told the council the pool provides general liability, property, vehicle physical damage, crime and cyber coverages and that the revisions clarify member responsibilities and governance. “Our direct coverage within MPA is $1,000,000 less our self-insured retention of $50,000,” Leanne said, adding that the pool layer provides about $9,000,000 of coverage above that and that additional excess layers extend coverage further (staff cited excess layers in the range of $10,000,000 to $32,000,000).

Leanne said the updates were reviewed by the pool’s coverage and governance committee and by Gilroy’s city attorney. She described the process of circulating a red-line draft and resolving member feedback before bringing the item for local adoption.

Councilmember Bracco moved the resolution and Councilmember Ramirez seconded. The council conducted roll-call voting and approved the resolution 7-0.

The adopted amendment includes clarified JPA powers and member obligations, instructions for withdrawal or expulsion of members, and formatting and terminology updates staff said were required for compliance and to maintain CAJPA accreditation eligibility. Leanne said about half of the 21 member agencies have already adopted the revised agreement and the rest are completing adoption this month.

The council took the action without public comment and did not add amendments. The resolution implements governance and coverage clarifications intended to preserve pooled purchasing power for municipal insurance costs.