It’s renewal time already on Warren County’s infrastructure insurance plan and supervisors expect to go through another round of proposals from the industry by the middle of next week, officials said Monday.

In December, four-fifths of the Board of Supervisors voted to make Warren the 25th county to join a multicounty benefit pool offered by the Mississippi Association of Supervisors. The plan offered a lower monthly premium to insure county-owned public buildings and other risk-carrying infrastructure than did three competing plans, including the county’s previous insurer, The Travelers Companies.

MAS’ plan, called the Mississippi Association of Supervisors Insurance Trust, intends for all member counties to have the same renewal date each year, which is April 1 this year, county administrator John Smith told supervisors during an informal session Monday. Smith said he expects MASIT and Travelers to submit proposals by next Wednesday.

“In all likelihood, we’ll have MAS and Travelers quotes,” Smith said.

Supervisors plan to meet March 30 to choose an insurer from quotes received.

Annual premiums under MASIT to cover assets such as the old U.S. 80 bridge, the county courthouse and other buildings are $237,144. Travelers quoted $315,897, which was second-highest of four bids supervisors considered in December. Other insurers that made offers were Zurich and Stone Oak.

That vote, and another to pick a local agent, prompted questions from competitors about time frames on claims and how the size of the pool would affect premiums long-term, which MAS has said is an unknown. Also, there’s a $250 million limit on property value insured in the pool, though the organization said it could rise depending on participation.

“MAS has been blowing them away all over the state,” Board President Bill Lauderdale said as the board absorbed the prospect of dealing with the issue for the second time in three months. Travelers had been the liability insurer of record for about 20 years prior to losing out to MASIT.

“It’s about money,” District 3 Supervisor Charles Selmon said. “But at the same time, competition is a good thing.”

MAS itself is not licensed to sell insurance in the state but has cited attorney general’s opinions of statutes as a basis for the pool. Agency officials cited the success of similar pools offered by county associations in Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama and Kentucky when the plan was pitched to supervisors in Warren County.

On the agenda

Meeting informally Monday, the Warren County Board of Supervisors:

• Heard a report from county engineers that signs could be up in six months along a proposed quiet zone on rail tracks in the Bovina community.

Signs would cost about $30,000 for the county to erect, officials have said. Sections of track from the Silver Creek area east to the Big Black River would not be subject to the sounds of trains’ horns if federal railroad regulators agree.

A citizen-led petition drive started last year by Ed Gibson, a retired engineer and Bovina resident, kick-started the effort. Gibson has said areas in Hinds County are also included in the petition.

District 1 Supervisor John Arnold on Monday came out in favor of the effort, saying he’d “like to see it done.” In February, Gibson filed to run for Arnold’s job, as an independent. Arnold, a Republican, faces two opponents in the August 4 primary.

• Read a letter from Warren County deputy Rick McDaniel donating his personal dog to the sheriff’s department for K-9 services.

Supervisors indicated they’d accept the donation formally when they met next Monday. The board declined a contract proposal from McDaniel last month, citing state law and attorney general’s opinions that prohibit a county employee benefiting from a contract with their employer.

• Read an invoice from Star Services for installing a new chiller atop the county courthouse.

Crews worked to install the system during the Presidents Day holiday in February, officials said. The bill was $123,280, which supervisors expect to approve formally next Monday.