VICCO, Ky. (AP) - Commissioners of an eastern Kentucky water district illegally spent more than $133,000 of the cash-strapped district’s money on their own health insurance policies over the past three years, officials said.
Knott County Water and Sewer District commissioners never publicly discussed the health insurance policies and attempted to hide the policies from the public, a report from the Public Service Commission said, according to news outlets.
The PSC learned about the policies after the district requested a rate increase. A news release from the PSC on Tuesday said although the utility is in a “dire financial condition,” five members on the district’s board of commissioners gave themselves full health benefits, costing the district more than $133,000 over the last three years.
The board’s chairman David Smith spent an average of about $15,000 each year for his insurance policy, the PSC discovered.
The release said board members asked PSC officials not to disclose information on the policies but the agency refused. The PSC told the district to recoup the money spent on the policies from commissioners. The agency also said three of the board members could be removed from office.
District General Manager Jared Salmons declined to comment on the commissioners’ health policies. Commissioners also declined to comment.
Knott County had not applied for a rate increase since 2003. The Public Service Commission granted the district’s request for a rate hike. The agency ordered a 45% increase immediately and a 15% increase in a year.
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