MINER -- Miner's Board of Aldermen have a new area of liability to think about: the loss of personal data.
Shad Old presented board members with information on identity theft and options his insurance company offers to mitigate the city's liability during the regular Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday.
"This is a subject that is getting ready to explode," Old said of identity theft. "This has become an epidemic."
He presented the Board with a list of computer data breaches in 2006 and other personal information thefts.
Information on federal legislation that recently went into effect by which companies and organizations can be held liable and subject to fines and other sanctions for the loss of employee or customer information was also offered by Old.
He described a case in which someone's health insurance was used by an identity thief.
Old said he is willing to make presentations to the city's employees on plans insuring against identity theft.
In other business during Tuesday's meeting:
* Board members awarded the bid to install central air and heating at the water plant to the low bidder, Jack O'Guin Heating of Sikeston, who offered to do the job for $7,800.
Also bidding were Mark Patton of Portageville at $10,592 and Carlos Warren and Sons at $7,988.
All three bidders offered 5-ton units and the associated duct work.
"It's going to save some money, going to central," said Dub Higden of the Department of Public Works.
* A motion to award a bid on a gate for the water treatment plant was tabled for lack of a second.
Peggy Holman, board member, said all of the bids should be thrown out since two had been discussed in the previous meeting and that the Board should just have city personnel fence in the yard instead of replacing the gate.
"That's too long of a span for a gate," she said.