In a move that he suspects will “ruffle feathers,” Okaloosa County Commissioner Nathan Boyles has proposed quashing the decades-long practice of awarding county employees for their years of service.
Boyles, who broached the issue in his regular newsletter, is adamant that he values county employees but questions honoring people simply for staying in their jobs year after year.
“This is not about not wanting to reward our employees,” he said. “It’s about doing it in a meaningful way.”
Employee awards take place at all daytime County Commission meetings. They generally are the first order of business after the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Employees of varying levels of service, who often bring family members for photos, are applauded and bestowed with T-shirts, sweatshirts and other tokens of appreciation.
Boyles argues the county should dig a little deeper and honor service that goes above and beyond what’s expected.
“We are giving out 160 awards, on average, a year for having been there,” he says. “So maybe we should award 100 people a year for having done something special.”
Boyles said he’s interested in recognizing “individual accomplishments.”
He already has received more than 30 emails from residents and plans to collect responses for another week. He will share his findings at the next commission meeting Dec. 17.
“We’ll see if it gets traction from there,” he said.
