Huckleberries Online

Gookin Blasts ‘Recognition’ Spending

Posted by DFO

Dec. 16, 2009 11:11 a.m. • 12 comments

Still, former city council candidate Dan Gookin thinks spending $4,500 on city employee recognition shows the mayor and council are out of touch with their constituents. “I don’t think anyone on the Coeur d’Alene city council stands up for the taxpayer. No one has ever said ‘The folks out there are hurting, and what can we do? They’ve had to cut back, they’ve had to deal with less, what can we do to deal with less?’ Now granted, their (city employees) unions took a zero percent, they didn’t give anyone a COLA (cost of living adjustment). But yet they’re still wasting money. The stuff they pay for that they don’t have to is just ridiculous”/Jay Howell, Idaho Family Forum. More here.

Question: Does you business or company spend much money in efforts to recognize good work by employees?

12 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

TheGookinSquad on December 16 at 11:24 a.m.
It’s nice to see Dan Gookin providing new material for his next election run in 2011. We’ll file this under ‘city staff appreciation’ in our archives.
DFO on December 16 at 11:41 a.m.
@ Gookin Squad; long time, no see.
otisgexperience on December 16 at 11:46 a.m.
Nitpicky stupid. I’d like to know how much staff time is wasted catering to all these public records requests. How much is that worth?
hmoffsuite on December 16 at 12:03 p.m.
People work hard for money. They work harder for the things money can buy. They work hardest for the things money can’t buy. Recognition is a good management tool. Cost effective and nearly always worthwhile. In the corporate world where I had once worked, the thinking was that if you can’t give people more money, give them a more important job title. :~)
Bent on December 16 at 12:03 p.m.
My dentist takes his entire staff and their spouses to Hawaii for a week every year… He says it is a great job retention tool and it seriously boosts the office spirit.
IdoDave on December 16 at 12:04 p.m.
What utter nonsense. Dan knows that every department in the city was asked to reduce budgets and did so, even beyond the elimination of COLAs. Every good employer - public and private - recognizes the value of supporting employee morale. In this case the city is spending roughly $17.50 per work day on employee recognition and attaboys/attagirls. I’m sure glad I don’t work for Dan Gookin.
Bent on December 16 at 12:49 p.m.
You know, I actually thought Gookin was coming to his senses… but now I’m not so sure… I wonder who really is out of touch with the taxpayers

Let’s just do the math — based on the 2006 estimated population of 41,328 people — the $4,500 in squandered taxpayer dollars equates to roughly 10 cents a year for every city resident.

I wonder how much it costs to train just one city cop? If you can retain that trained officer with appreciation gestures for any length of time, my guess is that you would have a net savings.

Municipal jobs in the Spokane County market tend to pay at least 30% higher and often times 50% higher than the same job in Kootenai County. Retention has to be difficult for Idaho municipalities…

I challenge the CAVErs to put that issue on the ballot and ask voters if they are willing to spend a dime a year to help retain quality trained staff at the city…

Then we’ll see who is in touch with the voters…
Phaedrus on December 16 at 12:52 p.m.
I wonder if Mary Souza gives out employee recognition at her company or whether she agrees with the Dan Gookin “You’ll get nothing and like it” management style?
Phaedrus on December 16 at 1:06 p.m.
You know, I actually thought Gookin was coming to his senses… but now I’m not so sure…

i did too until I found out he embraces the same ethically CHALLENGED RECORDING PRACTICES AS Mary Souza. Or that he keeps a toy wooden snake called ‘Woodie”
hhuseland on December 16 at 5:17 p.m.
Gookin’s remarks were just about governmental entities, not private enterprise, but most companies have some sort of recognition program. the proverbial gold watch upon retirement, that sort of thing. I would suggest that Dan give it a rest, since he has kind of gotten knit-picky lately. It’s the old,”If you are out looking for a fight, you will generally find one.” Don’t look so hard. Your blood pressure will benefit and people might even enjoy being around you more. Have a joyous Christmas. Smile.
spokelooneh on December 16 at 7:06 p.m.
There’s a deep seated reason why they just can’t help doing this. Hatred of government and everything associated with it. They won’t generally admit it, but they think the vast majority if not all government employees are overpaid sloths who do nothing but impede the God-given free enterprise system at every turn. They despise public employees of all sorts. And they have no concept of “picking the right battles”. Zealots.
Phaedrus on December 16 at 8:59 p.m.
They despise public employees of all sorts—spoke

See LarrySpenser’s attack on the CdA Police Department. Two peas in a pod.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.