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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRap-A-Round Newsletter 11.05.1993The RAP-AmROUND Volume V, November S, 1993 Georgetown Mark your calendars! Friday, December 17, 1993 Employee, Recognition Luncheon Presented by the City Manager & Division Directors to honor City Employees ANNIVERSARIES INS AND OUTS The City and its organization are people and these people have served the City well. We celebrate the following employment anniversaries which occur during the next two weeks: Eight Years ALkRSSA IWERS Purchasing & Properties MARY ANN VALENTA Accounting Seven Years HARTLEY SAPPINGTON Community Services Administration Five Years KIM STILES Police Services Four Years JOY MARION Library Services ETBEL BARNES Library Services Three Years SCOTT GIBSON Volunteer Firefighter IKE LAMBERT Volunteer Firefighter One Year ROSA GARCIA Library SUSAN MORGAN Finance & Administration city at Welcome Yvette Rose is the City's new Parks & Recreation Assistant_ Yvette is single and a '82 graduate of Georgetown High. She came to us from Rainbow Learning Center. Her interesting include reading, movies and taking time with children. Goodby Candace Hall left the Police Department. We wish her well. HUMAN RESOURCES What's Happeing to our Benefit Allowance? Our current benefit allowance of $1,572.00 per year ($131.00 per month) originated as a health insurance premium subsidy — a way to give all regular full time employees extra money to help pay their portion of the cost of health insurance for any additional spouse, child or full family coverage. Starting with this pay check, the benefit allowance of $1,572 per year will be rolled into the salary of all regular full time employees. The benefit allowance will become a permanent part of each regular full time employee's salary. The City will, of course, still pay the full cost of each regular full time employees's individual health insurance. The City will continue to subsidize full family coverage— that is the City pays a portion of the health insurance premium, above the cost of individual employee coverage, for full family coverage. Why is Rolling the Benefit Allowance into Salary a Good Thing To Do? * When the current benefit allowance becomes part of permanent salary, it cannot be taken away. Adding the benefit allowance to each regular full time employee's salary will f' RAP -A -ROUND 11/05/93 Page 2 permanently increase the salary by $1,572.00 per year, which is $60.46 per pay period. CUSTOMER SERVICE * This will give you a higher salary figure when applying for loans, when filling out apartment or credit applications, and in other similar situations. * All future pay increases figured on a percentage of salary will be applied to the full amount of salary, which will now include the benefit allowance. What will this Mean to Your Paycheck? The $1,572.00 benefit allowance (which you now see as $131.00 on the first pay stub of each month) will be added to total salary and divided evenly over our 26 bi-weekly pay periods. This comes out to $60.46 per pay period. Questions? We encourage you to call Pattie Justice, Teresa Hersh, or Melba Hensley with any questions you may have. Pattie can be reached in the Payroll Department at extension 3680. Teresa and Melba can be reached in the Human Resources Department at extension 3639. PAYROLL Did You Owe Tax on April 15, 1993? You may need to check your withholding. Since you last filed Form W-4 with your employer — Did you: Marry or divorce? Gain or lose a dependent? Change your name? Or, Did any of the following change? Your nonwage income (interest, dividends, capital gains, etc.) Your family wage income (more than one job or both spouses work) Your itemized deductions (if a significant change) If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions or you owed extra tax when you filed your 1992 return, you may need to file a new Form W-4 for 1994. Call Pattie Justice in Payroll (3680) or the IRS at 1-800-829-3676. Now is the time to check your withholding. For more details, get Publication 919, Is My Withholding Correct for 1994? The Committee The Committee has heard lots of questions lately about the purpose of the Committee, the way shares are awarded, and who gets shares. The Committee has been in place now for three years (that long!), so it is probably time to remember why this Committee exists in the first place. If you were here when Linda Goldzimmer gave her "I'm First" customer service training, you may remember that all of us that attended made a list of the things that helped us to do our jobs better, and a list of the things that got in the way. We put all those lists together, and the single most common concern —things that get in the way —was the lack of recognition. Lots and lots of employees said that there were not enough "attaboys" or "thank yous" or reward or recognition for doing a good job,. A Committee made up of employees from all divisions in the City decided to address this problem by designing the Friendly Service, Georgetown Style program. The Committee is still made up of volunteers from all City divisions, and they still meet to review nominations by citizens and employees that recognize the excellent service that so many City employees provide. The Committee members change every year, and consequently, the decisions on awarding shares have also changed. The current Committee has decided to draw up some guidelines to give more consistency to the way shares are awarded, and so that you can understand more clearly what types of nominations are —and are not —going to be approved. We will let you know what those guidelines are. One thing has not changed over the past three years. This program depends on employee involvement to succeed. If you think that someone you work with deserves to be recognized, then it is your responsibility to nominate them! Trivia question: Which City employee (still working for the City) proposed the "Friendly Service, Georgetown Style" motto, and won $509 The Awards Barbafa .Lake: A citizen wrote in to inform the City how courteous Barbara was when the woman came in to visit Community Owned Utilities. Barbara insisted on carrying forms to the woman's car and overall was very helpful. The woman expressed how much she appreciated Barbara's help. Jim Landry: When the median on Williams Drive in front of Hardees was landscaped Jim made sure the grass was well RAP -A -ROUND 11/05/93 Page 3 taken care of. He was awarded shares for watering the grass as early as 3:00 a.m.l This is certainly above and beyond the call of duty. Thanks Jim for keeping our City beautiful. David Hall: Dave had two managers with different ideas of how to do something, and he was caught right in the middle! The easy way out would have been to say "sorry, I just can't help you"...But instead, Dave demonstrated exceptional teamwork and put in many hours of extra effort to solve the problem. He showed a lot of dedication and commitment to doing what was right --even though it was more work for him. Carla Benton: When the GIS system went "down" and the Development Services Department was unable to prepare a map requested by the City Manager, Carla stepped in and used her excellent graphic skills to prepare the needed maps. Carla had only one week to complete the assignment - she worked over the weekend and stayed late getting the maps finished in time for Bob's meeting. The result was an accurate, - professional -looking map with which the City Manager could make a strong presentation. Barbara Raney and Richard Vigni: A citizen wrote in to thank Rich and Barbara for their "successful efforts on behalf of the City, in getting the utilities hooked up in Williamsburg Village for Young Life" He added how much he appreciated the extra attention Barbara and Rich gave in his particular situation. Mike Faught: While replacing a sewer line that went about 100 feet into a customer's back yard, the Water and Wastewater crews ran into a terrible flea problem. It was so bad, they had to stop working. They tried chemicals to kill the fleas, but they were not effective enough for the crews to return to work in the area. Mike came to the rescue on his day off with his own chemicals! Mike went to the customer's home, sprayed, and in a short time the fleas were dead! Because of Mike's willingness to give his time and labor to help another department, the crews were able to finish the job and rid a customer of a flea problem at the same time. Pattie Justice: On Laurie Brewer's first week on the job as Staff Accountant for the City, she left her headlights on all day and killed the battery in her car. Pattie made arrangements to get a jump-start for Laurie's car and stayed to make sure Laurie would get home okay. In a time when Laurie didn't know a soul, Pattie made her feel good about her new workplace and co-workers. Kim Ashby: A citizen wrote in to let us know how impressed he was with the courteous, efficient service he always receives from Kim. He tells us that Kim is the City employee that he interfaces with the most and she has always made that a pleasant experience. The Customer Service Committee agrees RAP -A -ROUND 11/05/93 that when someone gives 100 % at all times, they should be rewardedl Pilar Gomez: Pilar received a call from a resident who was having problems with his electricity and had been without air conditioning all night. Pilar contacted the appropriate agency (which took several phone calls) and got the situation taken care of. He then called the Georgetown resident and informed him that help was on the way! Through his diligence in tracking down the correct party and his exceptional display of friendly service, Pilar demonstrated the exemplary service that the City is striving for. Ken Finn: Councilmember Doris Curl nominated Ken for his assistance to the History & Visitor Center volunteers. Ken carried boxes that the senior citizens and women present could not manage. Thanks to Ken the volunteers were able to get their new Grace Church t-shirts ready for sale. Richard Vigni: Building, JAspections received a note from a family in Georgetown telling of their appreciation for the courteous and professional service that Rich provided during the construction of their new home. They were obviously very impressed with Rich to take the time to send a letter. Wayne Hilgenherg: An gentleman from out-of-town wrote to the Police Department to express his appreciation to Wayne for his rapid response in ensuring the safety of his family. The man's wife and daughter ran out of gas just outside of Georgetown on I-35. Officer Hilgenberg put gas in the car and got the ladies on the road quickly. The citizen added that Wayne is a credit to our police force, and reflects very well the image of the kind of law enforcement officer we need. Pete Ochoa, Lee Baker and Juan Cordova: These guys came to the rescue of Pat Taylor when she had surgery on her arm and could not lift anything. These gentleman hauled and loaded boxes for Pat so she wouldn't hurt her arm. She is very appreciative of the help and gives a big thank you to all three of the men. The Committee thought this was special because, knowing Pat, she would not have asked for help. So these three didn't wait to be asked, they took the initiative themselves to help someone else. Dave Hall: Recently, Dave went above and beyond the call of duty to expedite permit approval for the Grace Church project. 'Before complete plans had even been submitted, a permit was already being requested. Once full plans are submitted, City policy is to issue a permit within two weeks. The permit was needed quickly, so Dave stayed late - past midnight - to complete plan checking to issue a permit in less than a week of complete application submittal. Page 4 1 in 0 of Mle :97:1:i11 DEPARTMENT UPDATES Help Wanted... Part time Library Page, Library Services, Community Services Division. Position open until Friday, November 5, 1993. Part time Library Assistant - Circulation, 'Library Services, Community Services Division. Position open until Friday, November5, 1993. Pump Mechanic I, Community Owned Utilities Division. Position open until Friday, November 5, 1993. Part time Airport Fuel Attendant, Community Services Division. Position open until Friday, November 15, 1993. Volunteer Firefighters, Fire Services Division. Application deadline for this position is Wednesday, November 24. Upcoming Events Wesley Fest 1993 at University Avenue & Church Street. November 6 from 9:00 - 4:00 and November 7 from 12:00 - 5:00. Enjoy local artisans, baked goods, antiques & collectibles, food booth, entertainment and the Famous WESLEY BEST PICKLES. Creative Playscape Do you have a little extra time? Would you like to do something to benefit the entire community, especially the kids? The folks putting together the Creative Playscape need volunteers November 23 - 28. Skilled and Unskilled labor is requested in the areas of construction, childcare and food preparation. If you can share your talents for a few hours, please call Tom Swift (863-3485) or Julie Jordan (869-0124). Development Services BUSINESS IN GEORGETOWN IS GROWING RAPIDLY The following is a list of Certificates of Occupancies issued in the last few months: 3010 Williams Drive #21 (Army Recruiting Office) 3010 Williams Drive #22 A (Lvoi Travel Agency) 1209 N IH 35 (Boat Repair Shop) 205 IH 35 ( P.J. Shoppe) 806 Main Street (Engineering Business) 108 Hanger Drive (Aircraft Storage) 202 S. Austin Ave. A & B (Art Gallery) 109 Luther Drive (Funny Papers) 40104 Industrial Park (Greenway Environmental) 1219 Leander Road (Farmers Insurance) 1104 Main Street (University Bakery & Cafe) 3010 Williams Drive #20 (Snappy's Video) 2150 C Old Airport Road ( Furniture Repair Co.) In addition to these new businesses in Georgetown we can look forward to: Comfort Inn (opening around the middle of November) Taco Bell (opening around the last week of November) Gattiland (opening around the middle of December) Nations Pawn (opening around the first of January) Gabriel's Funeral Home (opening around the first of January) Information Services ASCII Fall Backwards (or Changing Your PCs Time) With the end of daylight savings time, we know that fall is finally here. We all take the time to turn our clocks back, but many of us forget that our PC's have a clock too. For people using computerized appointment or scheduling features, their alarms and other timed events no longer function properly. RAP -A -ROUND 11/05/93 Page 5 Even people without these features are affected- since DOS 4. Type in a new time or use the arrow buttons to stores the time a file was created or updated.', In this article ! change it. we will provide a way for DOS and Windows users to change 5. Select OK. the time on their clocks. 6. Close Control Panel. DOS There, you have changed your computer's clock. A very _ important thing to remember is that your computer must have In DOS, the user types the time command and then enters the a good battery or the computer will not save the time when new time. Time in DOS is entered as follows: you shut it off. This works just like a clock at the house. Unless you have a battery, the time is not saved. hh:mm:ss: dd where It = Hours m = Minutes s = seconds d = decimal seconds (hundredths). From the DOS prompt. follow these commands. C:1> date Current time is 10:38:50.96a Enter new time: — Enter the new time, using the format listed above, at the prompt. To finish press "Return" or "Enter" when you are finished. You will be returned to the DOS prompt. Windows Within Windows, the Control Panel provides a way to change the time easily and quickly. These are the steps to follow. 1. Open the Control Panel 2. Chose the Date/Time icon and open it. 3. Using the mouse, click on the portion of the time you want to change. C�G3�C3CJC7Dm By following these easy to use steps, you can change the time on your computer. Good computing! Parks & Recreation Parks & Recreation is sponsoring Floral Workshops November 6, and December 5 and 11 for only $20. There is also an Ornamental Christmas Arrangements workshop on December 4 for $15. Bring a pair of scissors, yourself and a participating friend and receive a free gift. For more information call Donna at 930- 3595. REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Joanna Brandon, Jeff Clausius, Stephanie Crenshaw, Kathy Ragsdale and Janis Russell. Please submit ads or articles you would like in the newsletter to Joanna Brandon BY 5:00 the Tuesday before payroll. N RAP -A -ROUND 11/05/93 Page 6