It Figures

$235 Million

Ohio businesses that aren’t paying insurance bills to cover injured workers can expect a visit from the state. The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation said July 16 that it is creating a compliance unit to pursue businesses with lapsed workers’ compensation bills. Bureau Administrator Marsha Ryan said all businesses need to pay their share. The highest priority will go to those who owe more than $10,000 in back premiums and penalties. About 5,540 Ohio employers fall into that category, owing an estimated $235 million collectively to the state. Of those, 1,477 have filed injured worker claims in the past two years.

9

The state of Missouri is asking the federal government for buyouts in nine areas hit hard by flooding in March, officials said on July 18. All told, the State Emergency Management Agency is seeking buyouts of 150 homes at a total cost of about $8.6 million. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will review each of the nine proposals and decide whether to fund some or all of the work, FEMA spokeswoman Crystal Payton said. It wasn’t clear how long the process will take. The requests are only for areas affected by early spring flooding. Additional buyout requests are likely as the result of the near-record flooding that occurred along the Mississippi River in June and July, but SEMA spokeswoman Susie Stoner said those requests will be made later. The first wave of buyouts in the Midwest began after the Great Flood of 1993. Stoner said more than 4,000 residential homes in flood plains around Missouri have been purchased since 1993 with the idea of moving homeowners out of harm’s way.

$1 Million

A preliminary estimate of damage from the tornado that struck Rolla, N.D., on July 7 now tops $1 million. Rolette County Tax Director Diane Schwandt expects that estimate to grow. Schwandt says property owners are finding more damage as they inspect closely. Schwandt says 19 buildings in Rolla were either damaged or destroyed. Of the six that were destroyed, she says three were rental properties and three were houses.