COSTA MESA : Creativity Pays Off for City Employees

A new program that rewards city workers for creativity is designed to save money and improve government, said Rick Pickering, assistant to the city manager.

Pickering said he modeled the program, which began Tuesday, after one in Manhattan Beach, where he used to work.

Non-management employees who come up with an idea that improves the effectiveness, productivity or safety of government will be awarded up to a week of vacation, which they can also have the option of cashing in.

In Manhattan Beach, a park worker was honored for his recommendation that Park Department vehicles have beepers that go on when the vehicle is in reverse.

Street sweepers already had the warning beepers, but no one had thought to add them to Park Department trucks, Pickering said.

The addition of the beeper made the vehicles safer by alerting children and others, Pickering said.

“It can be a new idea, or it can be reworking an old idea,” Pickering said. He said another winning idea from Manhattan Beach came from an animal control officer who suggested buying elbow-length leather gloves for workers to wear when catching animals. Formerly, workers had worn plastic gloves which did not give much protection against bites.

The program could save the city money if it reduces injuries to city staff and the public, or results in quicker ways to do the same job, Pickering said.

Pickering said City Manager Allan L. Roeder funded the program by donating a couple months of his own vacation time. If that runs out and the program has been a success, the City Council will be asked to set aside money for the program, Pickering said.

A review committee will consider suggestions, and Roeder will make the final decision on the awards, Pickering said. The maximum award will be 40 hours of vacation time or $800.