The City of Rifle Masters Diverse Risks

Keeping city employees safe is always a big job, but doing it on Colorado’s Western Slope for a municipality that runs everything from a local radio station to street-paving crews takes a special kind of dedication.

For Danielle Hogan, the HR Director and co-Risk Manager for the City of Rifle, managing those diverse risks is all in a day's work. Alongside the City Clerk, Hogan oversees the safety and well-being of a dynamic municipal workforce.

"Anything that pertains to employees falls under my umbrella," Hogan says. "That includes risk management and workers' comp"

A Small Town with a Massive Footprint

While Rifle boasts a tight-knit community feel, the sheer variety of services the city handles internally would make a Front Range municipality do a double-take.

Unlike some larger jurisdictions that contract out their utilities or law enforcement to counties and special districts, Rifle manages full municipal services in-house. That includes:

• Utilities & Infrastructure: Water, wastewater, and heavy street maintenance. (Last year, a crew of just eight people poured a mind-blowing amount of concrete and asphalt!)
• Public Safety & Administration: A full law enforcement division, code enforcement, and building inspectors.
• Community & Culture: A city-run senior center complete with a kitchen staff; a local radio station, and the Ute Theater operation employing bartenders, and theater techs.
• Parks & Tourism: A robust parks department that swells during the summer months, including an outdoor swimming pool and a newly acquired local golf course.

"We offer significantly more services than most jurisdictions our size," notes Hogan. "The only major service we don't handle directly is fire, which is covered by a separate fire district."

Hands-On Claims Management

With a workforce of 148 year-round employees and up to 175 seasonal staff (plus an additional 44 employees joining via the new golf course venture), Hogan takes a deeply proactive, hands-on approach to workers' compensation.

"When an employee is hurt at work, I want them to be taken care of and their medical covered," Hogan explains. "It’s a dual responsibility: to support the employee through their recovery, and to ensure the city is managing claims to the best of our ability to control costs."

Rifle has been insured with Pinnacol for over 70 years—a partnership that shines brightest when challenges arise. In rural Colorado, medical provider options can be limited. Hogan relies on Pinnacol’s claims representatives and nurse case managers to provide the necessary accountability from care providers.

"It’s nice to have someone on your side with a little more clout than just a single employer over here," Hogan says.

Safety and Return-to-Work for a Seasonal Workforce

Hogan has established modified duty opportunities for nearly every single job description on staff.

"Since we have so many different departments, I can accommodate nearly every single restriction" Hogan says. "We can transition a worker to another department, ensure they get their full wage, and keep them engaged while they heal."

When seasonal workers or high school students get injured right as the season ends, Pinnacol's Return to Work team steps in as an essential backup, helping Hogan navigate the finite legalities of indemnity and wage continuation.

Rifle also relies on Pinnacol for annual safety training. To accommodate the city's 24/7 law enforcement shifts, Hogan records the sessions, requiring night-shift staff to watch the videos and complete questionnaires so that every employee receives identical, high-quality safety training.

Locking Arms for the Future

At the end of the day, it's the personal relationship and mutual respect that keeps the City of Rifle a fiercely loyal Pinnacol member.

"I am a Team Pinnacol player," Hogan says. "The value of the relationship we have in managing our claims is important enough to me that I'm willing to be loyal."