CC Resolution No. 4092 ~
~
RESOLUTION N0. 4092
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CUPERTINO
ESTABLISHING A SUGGESTION AWARD PROGRAM
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes the ability of employees to provide
innovative and effective suggestions which improve services and reduce expendi-
tures; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to provide both recognition and cash
reward as an incentive to employees to develop and submit such suggestions; and
WHEREAS, procedures and policies have been developed to administer the
processes of suggestions submittal, review and recognition in an equitable
and fair manner;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the attached~suggestion award program
be approved and adopted, and the City Manager directed and empowered to admin-
ister this program of suggestion awards.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City
of Cupertino this 5th day of January , 1976, by the following vote:
Vote Members of the City Council
AYES: Meyers, Nellis, Sparks, Jackson
NOES: None
ABSENT: Frolich
ABSTAIN: None
APPROVED:
/s/ James E. Jackson
' Mayor, City of Cupertino
ATTEST:
/s/ Wm. E. Ryder
City Clerk
;
.
Attachment
~tes. No. 4092
CITY OF CUPERTINO
SUGGESTION AWARD PROGRAM
I. Purpose of the Suggestion Award Program
A. The purpose of the Suggestion Award Program is to stimulate efficiency
and productivity through suggestions from City employees which will
improve City services without a commensurate~increase in costs,
reduce costs without impairing services, or make working conditions
better or more safe.
B. To motivate employees to create and submit constructive suggestions,
the program will include a system of cash or certificate awards. The
size and signif icance of each award will be based on the value of the
suggestion to the City.
II. Eligibility
A. Any City employee, excepting those listed below, is eligible to submit
a suggestion and receive a cash award. Members of the suggestion
evaluation committee shall not be eligible to receive cash awards.
Employees not eligible for cash awards may submit suggestions for
consideration for certificates of commendation.
B. City employees not eligible for cash awards: Elected Officers, City
Manager, City Attorney, and Assistant City Manager.
C. Management employees may have suggestions considered for cash awards
only when the suggestion pertains to extra-departmental or other matters
which are predominantly outside of their f ield of work.
III. Suggestion Evaluation Committee
A. Composition
l. The City Manager will appoint a suggestion evaluation committee
composed of f ive• members including:
a) One employee from the Public Works Unit
b) One employee from the Miscellaneous Employees' Unit
c) One representative from a position designated as mid-management
d) One department head
e) A Personnel division employee who shall serve as permanent
secretary to the committee and as the coordinator of the
Suggestion Award Program. An ex-officio member, the personnel
representative shall vote only to break ties in regular member
votes.
B. Responsibilities
1. The suggestion evaluation committee will be responsible for:
~
a) administering the Suggestion Award Program within the policies
and procedures outlined hereins
b) reviewing suggestions and recommending awards to the City Manager, and
c) recommending new or revised policies and procedures to the City
Manager.
C. Procedures and Organization
1. A quorum of three members of the committee must be present for
a meeting to be held and a majority of the committee must vote
approval of each recommendation. Tie votes shall be decided by
vote of the ex-officio personnel representative.
2. With the exception of the committee secretary, members of the
committee shall be appointed to serve for two years. Meetings
will be held whenever a sufficient number,of suggestions have
accumulated; at least one meeting shall be held every month which
may be adjourned if no business is scheduled.
IV. Suggestion Submission and Processing
A. Submission of Suggestion Forms
1. Suggestion forms shall be made available to all employees and
must accompany all suggestions. The forms shall be obtainable
in each f acility of the City.
' 2. Forms shall be completed in accordance~with instructions on the
form. Forms will be mailed, routed, or delivered to the City
Manager's Office.
B. Suggestion Processing
1. Upon receipt of the completed suggestion form, the Suggestion Award
Program Coordinator will date and timestamp the form, assign an
identification number, remove the employee's name from the form,
acknowledge receipt, and assure that all actions related to the
suggestion are permanently recorded.
2. Depending upon the nature and character of the suggestion, the Program
Coordinator will route it to a department head(s) for study and
evaluation of its effect, savings, and feasibility of implementation.
An evaluation finding an otherwise effective suggestion to be
not acceptable for integration into the department must be thoroughly
substantiated. Department heads will return the completed
evaluation report to the coordinator within three weeks.
3. Copies of the departmental evaluations will be distributed to
other department heads to determine if the suggestion has external
effect. Written reports will be forwarded to the program coordinator
only in the event of adverse impact in other departments.
4. The coordinator will review the evaluation reports and will assemble
any additional information needed by the suggestion evaluation committee.
- 2 -
. , . ,
V. Evaluation and Recommendations by the Suggestion Evaluation Committee
A. Evaluation
g l. Suggestions together with evaluation reports will be reviewed at.
f`' periqdic meetings of the suggestion evaluation committee. After ;
studying suggeS.tions, the committee may.recommend to the City Manager ;
` that:
a) The~ suggestion~ be rejected,
b) a cash award of a stipulated amount be granted, or ,
c) a certificate of commendation.be presented.
~
B. Cash Awards. Cash awards will be computed under one of the following
categories.
l. Tangible Benefits: Tangible Benefits, those which will result in
measurable savings, will be recommended for awards based on the following
scale. Cash awards granted under this scale will,be based on a
percentage of the estimated average annual net savings during the
life of the suggestion. The award scale grows proportionately smaller
as the amount of esti.mated savings increases. The award for suggestions
of indeterminate or extended lifespan.shall be based on the average net
savings of the first five ,years.
,
Cash Award Scale ~
;
Average Annual Net.Savings During Life of Sugg.estion Award ~
From To
~ Less than.$50 $ 5
$ 50 $ 125 10
'126 175 15
~176 250 20
251 325 30
326 475 40
476 675 60
. 676 925 80
926 1,225 100
1,226 1,600 125
1,601. 2,500 150
2,501 4,000 175
4,001 6,300 225
6,301 10,000 300
10,001 16,000 400
16,001 25,000 500
25,001 or over - 600
2; Intangible Benef its
a) A safety suggestion which improves significantly and permanently
safety practices or health conditions without producing tangible
benefits may receive a cash award.
b)~ A suggestion which will result in signif icant improvement of
public relations, services to the public, or employee morale
may.receive a.cash.award.
- 3 -
c) Maximum intangible benefits award will be $50.00.
3. One-time Benefits: When a suggestion is concerned with a project
or activity which will occur only once and when the savings resulting
therefrom may be amortized only during a one year period, the
committee may recommend a cash award. It may not exceed 50% of
the award indicated by the cash award table in section B, 1.
C. Certificates of Commendation: When a suggestion will result in
tangible or intangible benefits too small to qualify for a cash award
or is submitted by an employee not eligible for a cash award, it may qualify
for the presentation of a certificate of commendation. Such certificates
shall express the appreciation of the City Council for the employee's
efforts and shall be noted in the employe~s personnel records.
VI. Action by City Manager
After the suggestion evaluation committee has determined its recommendation,
the coordinator will transmit the suggestion and related material to
the City Manager for review and final approval, disapproval, or other
action. The City Manager may veto, amend or increase a recommended
cash award or take whatever other unilateral action felt necessary to
administer the intent of this program.
VII. Progress Reports to Suggestors
Each employee who submits a suggestion shall be notified promptly of
receipt of the suggestion and its disposition, the recommendation of
the suggestion evaluation committee, and the action taken by the City
Manager. Suggestors will also be informed of the reasons for any
delays in the processing of their suggestions. Al1 such notifications
shall be in writing with f ile copies retained in program files.
Notices of rejection of a suggestion shall state the reasons for
rejection.
VIII. Suggestion Implementation
Without regard to the time schedule for processing the suggestion,
acceptable suggestions should be implemented at the earliest opportunity.
If the suggestion does not require a policy decision from the City
Council, the City Manager will take immediate steps to insure immediate
use of the suggestion. If a policy decision by the City Council is
required, the City Manager shall request a policy decision by the City
Council and, assuming favorable council action, insure prompt imple-
mentation thereafter.
IX. Award Presentation
The presentation of cash awards and certificates of commendation wil].
be made in accordance with the level of the suggestion. For suggestions
of an important or significant nature, presentation will be made in
the office of the employee's department head by an appropriate official.
- 4 -
;
X. Program Publicity
The Suggestion Award Program Coordinator shall assure adequate
publicity is provided to all employees regarding the program, and
that appropriate external release of program results is secured.
XI. Regulations
A. Suggestion Eligibility
1. Every employee has a degree of responsibility for the improvement
of his/her work. Suggestions will be reviewed to determine that
they are within that responsibility or whether they should be
considered for awards. The following criteria generally describe
the kind of suggestions which would not be eligible for~an award.
a) The nature of the suggestion is such that the employee's
performance would be considered less satisfactory had he or
she not made it.
b) The suggestion is one pertaining to his or her immediate
working area which the employee can place into operation
without consulting higher authority and which affects only
his/her work.
~ c) The suggestion involves purchase of additional equipment,
supplies or materials which are generally.known to,increase
employee output on an incremental basis.
2. Suggestions involving routine "housekeeping" functions such as
cleaning, repairing equipment, or more frequent servicing of
equipment, are generally not eligible for consideration unless
they involve a major change in established procedures or result
in a substantial improvement in safety or health conditions.
3. Suggestions requiring the purchase of new equipment or creation of
new positions shall be eligible for cash awards only if implementation
can be achieved within the means of the current budget, as amended.
Exceptions to this rule may be granted upon the recommendation
of the suggestion evaluation committee and approval of the City
Manager. Such exceptions shall allow bestowal of a cash award
only if the City adopts the suggestion within one year of the
date that the exception was approved by the City Manager.
4. Eligible suggestions may involve, but are not limited to, the
' following:
a) A reduction in the use of, or more efficient use of, manpower,
equipment, supplies, or outside services,
b) an~increase in efficiency through improved procedures~
c) improvement of public relations,
d) improvement of working conditions or employee morale, and
e) elimination of saf ety hazards•
- 5 -
B. Rejected Suggestions
Excepting suggestions for the purchase of new equipment or creation
of new positions (governed by Regulation A,3) any employee whose
suggestion is rejected shall be eligible for a cash award if the
City adopts his or her suggestion within a period of one year from
the date of rejection. In such cases, it shall be the suggestor's
responsibility to initiate this action within one year following
adoption of the idea.
C. Patentable Ideas
The City will not object to an employee's efforts to patent any
suggestion or part thereof, and would in fact encourage such action.
in order that the employee may be assured of any benefits available
through commercial exploitation; provided however, that the City
shall be entitled to use the patented feature without charge.
It must be agreed that the cash award for an accepted suggestion
shall be full compensation therefor, and that no further claim
exists against the City.
D. Group Suggestions
When several employees work together on a suggestion, all of
those active in the development of the suggestion must be identified
when it is submitted. It should be remembered that supervisory
employees are not eligible for awards in matters that would normally
be their responsibility, and that their participation in the
submission of suggestions should be limited to the information
and advice they can offer employees when developing group suggestions.
Cash award for group suggestions shall be the same as for individually
submitted suggestions. The suggestors will determine how the
award is to be divided and inform the Program Coordinator so that
income taxes may be deducted.
E. Duplicate Suggestions
If duplicate suggestions or suggestions which utilize similar
methods to obtain like results are submitted, only the f irst
suggestion received will.be eligible for an award. A suggestion
which duplicates a change already initiated through normal
administrative procedures and which can be substantiated by the
existence of reports, minutes, or other documents cannot be
considered for an award.
F. Resubmitted Suggestion
If the condition of operation, method or procedures related to
the subject of a rejected suggestion change substantially, the
suggestor may resubmit the suggestion for reconsideration.
- 6 -
G. Effective Date
Cash awards will be presented to employees not earlier than
thirty (30) days after a suggestion has been put into effect.
H. Income Tax
The Internal Revenue Service has ruled that cash awards received
for suggestions are taxable income. Therefore, necessary deductions
will be made from cash award checks.
- 7 -
CITY OF CUPERTINO
SUGGESTION AWARD FORM INSTRUCTION SHEET
Purpose of the Suggestion Award Program
The City needs original ideas on how to improve methods, equipment or
procedures; how to save time, materials, or money; how to reduce accidents
or eliminate accident hazards; how to improve public relations, etc.
An employee suggestion program has been established for the purpose of
systematizing the submittal and review of suggestions and for providing
recognition through cash and other awards for valuable suggestions.
How to Present Your Suggestions
l. Use the Employee Suggestion Form which is at,tached to these instructions.
Present only one suggestion on each form.
2. State your suggestion completely and clearly. Think your idea through
carefully and be specific.
3. Use a sketch or drawing to illustrate your idea if this will aid in
better understanding. Use additional sheets if necessary and staple
them to your Employee Suggestion Form.
4. Make an extra copy of the form for your own records.
5. Enclose one copy of this form in a sealed envelope and forward it to
the Suggestion Evaluation Committee in the City Manager's office.
6. If you run into any snags in preparing your suggestions, please contact
your supervisor or the Personnel Division.
How Your Suggestion Will be Processed
1. As soon as your suggestion is received by the Suggestion Award Program
Coordinator, you will be sent a letter of acknowledgement of receipt.
2. Your suggestion will be registered, assigned an identification number
and copies routed to departments concerned for review and evaluation.
The name of the employee submitting the suggestion will not be disclosed,
and all communications will be written and pr2vate insofar as the
suggestion itself is concerned.
3. The Suggestion Evaluation Committee will then consider the suggestion
together with the departmental reports and other information and will
come to a decision as to whether an award is merited and the kind
or amount to be recommended. Award recommendations are subject to
review and approval by the City Manager and his decision shall be final.
4. You will be notif ied in writing of the Suggestion Evaluation Committee's
recommendation and the action of the City Manager.
- 8 -
~ate,_r.eceived . • " EMPLOYEE SUGGESTION FORM '
in CitX Manager's ~ ,
ofXi.ce.; ~
. I. Title or sub~ect,of suggestion: "
. „
II. Problem (describe problem, difficulty or circumstances):
, III. Present method or procedure (describe in detail; specify yard, office, or other ~
location): ~ , • ~
. . . ~
_ ' ~
IV. Suggested- method or procedure (give details of change or improvement which you propose):
. .
V. What are.the advantages of your suggested method or procedure?.~,Tell how your method
or procedure can be accomplished.
. ' ,
i, .
YOU MAY ATTACH ADDITIONAL PAGES, SKETCHES, SAMPLES, ETC., IF NECESSARY
VI. I/we agree, for myself/ourselves and my/our heirs and assigns,;that the City of
Cupertino shall be entitled to implement, use and put into operation and effect
the suggestion hereinabove submitted wittiout paying any royalities or any.other moneys
whatever for the privilege of so doing.
Suggestor's Name: Joint Suggestor's`Name: ~
~Aepartment/Division:
Signature & Date: _ 9 _ . ~