At the June 18th city council meeting the agenda included the honoring of two employees that are retiring from the city: community development director Randy Daily (35 1/2 yrs) and police sergeant Karen McIntosh (18 yrs).

When that time came the mayor offered some kind words about the service and great personal character of both employees. Then they were given an opportunity to say a few words. Both were obviously emotional and spoke highly of their relationships with their coworkers and leaders (elected and staff) both past and present.

Also how the way they were treated over the years, not just as employees, but as people, made it an easy choice to stick around and contribute to the success of the family like atmosphere. It was a special moment that I was lucky to witness, and it made me proud of our city, staff and elected officials.

This brief event also completely reaffirmed my belief that this type of culture amongst the city’s staff is one of the key reasons that we residents receive great service from these happy employees. And which directly contributes to the staff’s favorable results with the citizen surveys.

As an elected official I would feel obligated not just to the staff, but to the citizens to strive to retain this culture as the faces continue to change in the city offices.