Note: Sections 2-8.01 through 2-8.12, codified from Section 1, Ordinance No. 1755 c.s., effective February 14, 1962, amended in their entirety by Ordinance No. 1952 c.s., effective October 12, 1967.
There is hereby created a Suggestion Award Plan, hereinafter referred to as Plan, and a Suggestion Award Board, hereinafter referred to as Board.
The Board shall consist of a total of eight members, four members to be appointed by management, serving indefinite terms, and four members to be elected by employees of the City. Each elected member shall serve a term of two years, with an election held annually to replace two of the members whose terms have expired. No elected member shall succeed himself.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
A suggestion is a constructive proposal for a new procedure, or change in existing procedure, in the operation of a department, which suggestion makes possible the reduction, elimination, or avoidance of expenditures of public money or results in improvement in the operations or functions of the department.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
A suggester is one eligible for participation in the Plan who makes a suggestion. All employees of the City (including members of the Suggestion Award Committee) are eligible to make suggestions. All employees shall be eligible for cash or honorary awards for suggestions of outstanding merit. Eligibility for cash awards shall be determined on the basis of the position held by the employee at the time the suggestion is submitted. In those cases where a proposal is adopted and installed by a department before the actual submission of a formal suggestion by an employee, the suggestion shall be submitted within 60 days of the installation of the suggestion to be eligible for award.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
All suggestions, with the exception of those set forth in Section 2-8.05 of this chapter, which accomplish any of the following objectives shall be considered suggestions within the meaning of this chapter:
(a) 
The saving of time, labor, space, material, or supplies;
(b) 
The improvement of service to the public;
(c) 
The improvement of methods and procedures resulting in increased output or efficiency or both;
(d) 
The improvement of safety or health conditions;
(e) 
The improvement of tools or equipment; and
(f) 
The elimination of unnecessary procedures, records, or forms.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
The following suggestions are not eligible for awards under the Plan:
(a) 
Proposals which call attention to a problem but which do not suggest a solution;
(b) 
Suggestions dealing with normal maintenance, unless such suggestions contribute to a solution or a problem;
(c) 
Suggestions dealing with salary adjustment and job classifications;
(d) 
Suggestions which are within the scope of the normal job responsibility of a suggester;
(e) 
Suggestions which are submitted for other employees who would be ineligible because the suggestion would be within the scope of their normal job responsibilities;
(f) 
Suggestions which are basically duplicates of suggestions submitted within the preceding 24 month period; and
(g) 
Procedures of improvement that are known to be under consideration but for which no suggestion has actually been submitted in writing.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
Suggestions shall be prepared on special forms provided by the Board and shall be submitted directly to the Board.
The Board shall review and record all suggestions received and refer them to the appropriate department for investigation.
All suggestions shall be signed by the suggester, but the Board shall not disclose the name of the suggester to the investigating department at the time the suggestion is transmitted.
With the consent of the Board, an employee may submit a suggestion at an early stage in its development in order to establish his priority of right to such suggestion.
Suggestions shall be considered submitted when they are received by the Board.
Suggestions may be submitted jointly by two or more employees and monetary awards shared equally, or as requested by such employees.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
Cash awards for suggestions resulting in tangible beneficial savings shall be made as follows:
The minimum cash award shall be Ten and no/100ths ($10.00) Dollars, and the Board is hereby authorized to approve awards in an amount up to, and including, One Hundred and no/100ths ($100.00) Dollars for each award without further authority from the Council. Awards in an amount of more than One Hundred and no/100ths ($100.00) Dollars shall be recommended by the Award Board and may be approved by the Council. No cash award shall be authorized until 30 days after implementation of the suggestion for which the award is made.
The payment of cash awards in excess of One Hundred and no/100ths ($100.00) Dollars for any suggestion shall not be made until the suggestion has been installed for a period of 12 months and shall be based on savings actually realized during such 12 month period; however, an initial award of One Hundred and no/100ths ($100.00) Dollars may be paid after such suggestion has been in effect for 30 days, said payment of One Hundred and no/100ths ($100.00) Dollars to be deducted from the final award made for the suggestion.
Cash awards shall consist of 10% of the first year's net savings up to and including a first year's net savings of One Thousand and no/100ths ($1,000.00) Dollars. When the suggestion results in a first year's net savings of more than One Thousand and no/100ths ($1,000.00) Dollars, the award shall be based upon an appropriate and uniform scale to be developed and recommended by the Board to the Council for adoption. For the purpose of determining net savings, the cost of installing a suggestion shall be amortized on a reasonable basis.
When an original suggestion is a partial solution of a problem, or a solution of part of a problem, and must be revised or developed before it can be installed, it should be evaluated for the purpose of determining the amount of the award on the basis of its proportionate importance to the final suggestion that is actually installed. Special scales to help in the evaluation of adopted suggestions which show intangible or safety benefits shall be developed and adopted by the Board.
The Board shall not make any cash award unless sufficient funds are available in the appropriation authorized by the Council.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
The Board hereby established shall exercise general supervision and direction over the Plan set forth in this chapter. The Board shall be responsible directly to the Council. It shall elect its own Chairman and Vice-Chairman annually. It shall meet monthly and on special occasions at the call of the Chairman. The functions of the Board shall be as follows:
(a) 
To encourage employees to make suggestions and to explain the Plan to the various City departments;
(b) 
To determine the eligibility of suggestions and suggesters;
(c) 
To assure that each suggestion is thoroughly investigated and the findings submitted to the committee for evaluation;
(d) 
To call upon any City officer or employee, or any officer or employee of any departmental agency, for information and recommendation on any suggestion;
(e) 
In the case of suggestions which a department has rejected in whole or in part, the Board, at its discretion, may refer the suggestion back to the department for further review. If no final determination is made, it should be referred to the City Manager for further consideration;
(f) 
To determine the type and amount of awards with the prescribed limit of One Hundred and no/100ths ($100.00) Dollars and to recommend larger awards to the Council;
(g) 
To authorize the actual payment of awards in amounts up to, and including, One Hundred and no/100ths ($100.00) Dollars;
(h) 
To waive procedural rules in individual cases in the interests of fairness and equity, and to report periodically on such cases to the Council (but not to waive rules governing the amount of cash awards);
(i) 
To recommend changes in the Plan to the Council; and
(j) 
To submit periodic reports and recommendations to the Council on the functioning of the Plan.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
The Chairman of the Board shall administer the Plan. His responsibilities shall be:
(a) 
To assist the Board in the discharge of its duties and responsibilities;
(b) 
To see that files and records are properly maintained;
(c) 
To conduct periodic audits of the Plan and its effectiveness and to report such audits to the Board;
(d) 
To receive, acknowledge, process, and refer suggestions to the appropriate department for investigation, and to reject duplicate or otherwise ineligible suggestions;
(e) 
To receive and review investigation reports from the various City departments and to submit the same to the Board with his recommendations;
(f) 
To see that appropriate rejection and commendation letters to suggesters are prepared and to transmit the same to the department involved for personal delivery and explanation to the suggester by the department;
(g) 
To assist City departments and other governmental agencies in publicizing and promoting the Plan;
(h) 
To interpret the Plan to the various City departments and to act as a consultant on award problems presented to him;
(i) 
To coordinate the Plan with the several departments and to receive departmental complaints and suggestions dealing with the operation of the Plan;
(j) 
To insure that adopted suggestions are given wide publicity among the various departments so as to assure the maximum possible benefit to the City;
(k) 
To keep in touch with agencies which have suggestion award programs and keep informed of new developments and theories in the field of beneficial suggestion awards;
(l) 
To develop detailed rules, procedures, forms, and promotional material for consideration and adoption by the Board;
(m) 
To develop plans for the training of supervisors in each department, such training to cover the purposes, policies, and procedures of the Plan and to be directed toward integrating the Plan with line supervision; and
(n) 
To assist the various departments in the development and revision of departmental procedures for handling suggestions, upon the request of the departments or agencies.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
The duties of the City Manager in connection with the Plan and the Board shall be as follows:
(a) 
To assist the responsible City department head in his review of suggestions, upon request; and
(b) 
To provide the necessary clerical assistance.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
Each department shall investigate and estimate the savings on suggestions submitted by its employees or affecting its activities or operations and shall adopt and install suggestions whenever feasible.
Whenever necessary the department may request assistance from the City Manager.
Within 45 days from the date of receipt of a suggestion, the department shall submit a final or progress report to the Board.
Procedure for handling suggestions shall provide for personal contact between the person evaluating a suggestion and a suggester, when further clarification is needed to implement a suggestion.
Each department shall be responsible for the promotion of the Plan among its own personnel.
The investigating department shall advise the Safety Division regarding all suggestions affecting safety practices, and the Safety Engineer shall give the department and the Board his opinion upon such suggestions.
The Safety Engineer shall also advise the Board with respect to determination of the amount of the cash award for suggestions involving safety practices, upon request of the Board.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
Each City department shall be responsible for investigating and taking action on suggestions submitted by its employees or affecting its activities and may request technical assistance from and consultation with any other City department or office.
If a department rejects a suggestion in whole or in part, the Board may request the department to reconsider its rejection but shall have no authority to reverse a departmental decision except as set forth in subsection (e) of Section 2-8.08 of this chapter.
All completed investigation reports of a department shall bear the signature of the department head, or his authorized representative, and the immediate supervisor responsible for the activity with which the suggestion deals.
Departmental investigation of suggestions shall seek the following information:
(a) 
The position classifications and operations affected;
(b) 
An estimate of the savings in time, labor, material, space, hazard, inconvenience, and other factors;
(c) 
A report on action taken or planned on the complete or partial installation of the suggestion within the department;
(d) 
The eligibility of the suggestion;
(e) 
Complete reasons for a rejection of the suggestion in whole or in part;
(f) 
An estimate of the cost of installation and a recommendation on the amortization of the cost of installation of the suggestion;
(g) 
An estimate of the possible effect of the suggestion on other units of the department; and
(h) 
An estimate of the period of time over which the savings or advantages of a suggestion are expected to accrue or have effect.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)
All suggestions which are adopted shall become the property of the City.
The City shall not be liable to any suggester for any sum of money other than that which the Board and/or Council shall at their discretion see fit to award.
Upon the submission of a suggestion, the suggester shall waive any claim for compensation from the City for such suggestion, or any rights to a suggestion, other than as provided for in this chapter, and each suggestion blank submitted by a suggester shall contain such a waiver.
(Ord. 1952 c.s., eff. October 12, 1967)