Chapter 1.40
EMPLOYEE SUGGESTION AWARDS

Sections:

1.40.050  Establishment – Purpose.

1.40.100  Suggestion awards.

1.40.200  Program subject to budget allocations.

1.40.300  Awards are income.

1.40.050 Establishment – Purpose.

The city establishes a program of awards to stimulate and reward suggestions which are of benefit to the city. [Ord. 3950 § 1, 1994.]

1.40.100 Suggestion awards.

A. General Eligibility Requirements.

1. To be eligible for a monetary award, a suggestion must make possible an extension of public service commensurate with the expense involved, or an elimination or reduction of city expenditures without substantially impairing such service, or provide a desirable safety enhancement.

2. Employees shall not be eligible for an award for suggestions pertaining to subjects assigned for research and development or to problems assigned for solution or which such employee would normally be expected to offer in the line of duty.

3. The suggestion must propose a change which was not under active consideration by the city department affected at the time the suggestion was made.

4. If duplicate suggestions are submitted, only the first received shall be eligible for an award.

5. A suggestion which has been put into effect by the city department concerned must be submitted for award consideration within 90 days of its adoption; provided, that this requirement may be waived by the city council upon recommendation of the city manager.

6. Appropriate commendation of an employee whose adopted suggestion does not merit a cash award may be recommended by the city manager.

7. The total amount of a monetary award shall be 20 percent of the estimated net first year savings, as determined by the city manager, but not more than $3,000.

8. Participation by employees in the suggestion awards program is on a voluntary basis. All suggestions and all ideas embodied in them shall become the exclusive property of the city upon submission of the suggestion, as a condition of consideration of an employee's suggestion.

B. Procedures for Making Suggestion.

1. Suggestions must be submitted on prescribed forms to the city suggestion awards committee (“committee”). The committee shall consist of three members, one of whom shall be the city manager, with all members appointed by the city manager on an ad hoc basis. The term for the committee members shall be limited to the time required to consider and make recommendations of a suggestion or group of related suggestions.

2. Suggestions must be signed but names will remain undisclosed until consideration of the suggestion has been completed.

3. Each employee submitting a suggestion shall execute the following agreement:

In consideration of my participation in the Suggestion Award Program, I hereby agree that the use by the City of Ellensburg of my suggestion concerning ____________ shall not be the basis of a claim of any nature against the City of Ellensburg by me, my heirs, executors, or assigns.

4. The committee shall receive, record and acknowledge receipt of suggestions, shall advise the submitting employee of any undue delay in the consideration thereof and shall notify the submitting employee of action taken as soon as final consideration has been made.

5. Suggestions shall be referred to the affected city department for consideration. Within 30 days, the department shall report its findings and recommendations to the committee. The departmental report shall indicate whether or not a suggestion has been adopted and the actual or estimated reduction of expenditures or the value thereof to the city.

6. The committee shall evaluate each suggestion, taking into consideration department action and the objective of the employee awards program; and it shall formulate and transmit to the city manager an official recommendation covering the merits of the suggestion, whether the same justifies an award, and the estimated savings or value of the suggestion.

7. The city manager shall make an estimate of the first-year savings, and submit that estimate and the committee recommendation to the city council. The city council may authorize a monetary award or an appropriate commendation, based upon the recommendations of the committee and city manager.

8. An employee may file a written request for reconsideration by the committee of a suggestion which has been previously rejected but subsequently adopted by a city department. [Ord. 3950 § 1, 1994.]

1.40.200 Program subject to budget allocations.

This program shall be subject to the availability of budgeted funds as determined by the city council each year when setting the annual budget or any amendments thereto. [Ord. 3950 § 1, 1994.]

1.40.300 Awards are income.

Suggestion awards are classified as income under the Internal Revenue Service and state of Washington rulings, and as such are subject to withholding tax, Social Security and pension reductions. Separate award checks will be issued to award winners for the gross amounts. The award amounts will then be entered into the pay cycle as a pay adjustment with appropriate deductions reflected in the employee's subsequent earning records. The grant of an award is nonrecurring and does not result in a permanent increase in an employee's salary. [Ord. 3950 § 1, 1994.]