Mayor Danielle Moore is asking residents to pitch in and help pay for annual bonuses for the town’s general employees.
The Mayor’s General Employee Appreciation Fund relies on residents’ donations to pay for $1,000 bonuses for each of the town’s approximately 150 full-time general workers. Businesses can also donate to the fund, Moore said.
Moore set a fundraising goal of $150,000. She said she’d like to reach the goal in time to provide the bonuses on June 1, which is the date of this year’s appreciation party for all town employees.
Moore launched the fund last year in cooperation with former town mayors Gail Coniglio, Jack McDonald, and Lesly Smith, who is Moore’s mother. It was created shortly after the non-profit Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation announced that it would provide retirement benefits for employees of the Police and Fire-Rescue departments.
The general employees are those who work in the Public Works, Planning, Zoning and Building, Information Technology, Finance, People and Culture, Recreation and Administration departments.
“Our employees strive to keep Palm Beach the exceptional community it is,” Moore wrote in a March 9 letter to about 700 residents on her email list.
Last year, the general employees received their bonuses in March, which is employee appreciation month. Moore said the bonuses are coming later this year because she has been so busy and got off to a late start. But she said March remains the goal for the future.
“My desire is to show our appreciation for their loyalty and dedication to our Town through a monetary gift every March,” she wrote in the letter.
Coniglio said she and the other two former mayors all contributed and made phone calls to solicit donations. She said she donated from both her personal and business bank accounts.
“We felt all mayors being involved shows this is something important to all of us,” Coniglio said. “We expressed to the community that, while the police and fire fund is certainly of value to the community, we felt the general employees deserved a special fund that honored them. They are what I call the ‘unsung heroes.’”
For those inclined to donate, checks should be made payable to the Town of Palm Beach, with “Mayor’s General Employee Appreciation Fund” specified in the memo line.
The checks should be mailed to the Finance Department, Town of Palm Beach, Post Office Box 2029, Palm Beach, FL 33480.
The town will send out a receipt for your contribution to the Mayor’s General Employee Appreciation Fund, said Bob Miracle, Deputy Town Manager, Finance and Administration. For any questions regarding your donation, call the Town of Palm Beach at 561-838-5444.
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