The Louisiana Municipal Association-Unemployment Compensation Fund (LMA-UCF) Program was inaugurated in 1979 for the sole purpose of saving municipalities money on payments of unemployment compensation claims and/or taxes. Since its inception, this innovative LMA-UCF program has saved its enrolled members more than $2 million annually over what they would have paid through the more traditional taxable method.

To be a smart administrator, you've got to take advantage of cost-saving programs. Scarce revenue dollars make effective public administration for the 1990s more difficult than ever and a very real challenge for the new century. As a result, informed administrators must make use of all available cost-saving measures. Many officials and administrators overlook the savings allowed governmental employers by existing unemployment compensation laws.

As a political subdivision, your municipality may elect either to pay a quarterly tax contribution or to reimburse the unemployment trust fund only for the cost of benefits paid to your former employees. The UC taxes paid by Louisiana’s employers are intended to cover more than the cost of benefits charged to them with the excess going toward a reserve against future charges. The reimbursable method of financing your unemployment compensation expense, while usually less costly, is not without risk. Reimbursable employers must pay whatever amounts of benefits have been charged to them in a given quarter.

Members of the LMA-UEC Groups Account enjoy the best of both of these financing methods. They pay a set rate, regardless of how high their individual benefit charges may go, and this rate is substantially lower than that which individual taxable employers now pay. That’s why the LMA urges you to enroll in its Unemployment Compensation Group Account with an opportunity to participate at lowered rates.

Effective January 1, 1999, the LMA Executive Board reduced the contribution rate for all members to 0.20 percent, or one-fifth of the one percent of payroll per employee. In addition to the low rates of our program, the Board has rebated $100,000.00 of interest earnings to the participants annually since 1997. Rebates are prorated to each member municipality based on its contribution for the year. This rebate lowers your effective rate considerably below 0.20 percent. If your municipality is currently a reimbursable employer, it can join the LMA-UEC group with only a 30-day notice.

If your municipality is a taxable employer, you must notify the Louisiana Office of Employment Security by December 1st for your municipality to change in a timely manner, and to enroll as a member by January 1st. This procedure will convert your entity to a reimbursable employer.

Taxable municipal employers need only compare what their UC tax costs were last year to the projected cost based on this year’s rate of 0.20 percent of your total payroll. There is no question that your municipality will save money by joining the LMA-UEC group.

Save money by participating in the LMA’s UEC Group!

If you are a reimbursable employer, consider these advantages of participating in the LMA-UEC Group Account: Your total liability is limited to your group contribution of 0.20 percent, or one-fifth of one percent, of total employee wages. LMA-UEC Group members enjoy easy, simple, and exact budgeting for unemployment compensation. Right now, non-group members are merely guessing.

Your municipality can eliminate the risk of high costs caused by budget-cutting.  Right now, non-group members are totally liable for any unemployment compensation claims paid to former employees.

Expert management and assistance is available from our service agent, Unemployment Cost Solutions, a firm with an outstanding record of controlling unemployment compensation costs and handling matters relating to Louisiana unemployment compensation laws.

For more information, or to enroll in LMA’s UEC Group: Contact Ken Drone, LMA CFO, at (225) 344-5001 or (800) 234-8274 for the requisite application forms and additional information about the LMA-UEC’s Group Account Program.

You can be very confident that your decision to participate in this innovative program will be the wisest one you ever made to control personnel costs and stretch your tax dollars even more.

Join the LMA-UEC Group today!