City of Atlanta

Department of Watershed Management

Press Release

On Friday, December 11, the Department of Watershed Management hosted an employee recognition luncheon for more than 1,000 employees. In the past, the Department has held quarterly meetings to recognize individual and group achievements and to discuss other employee matters.

The luncheon was held in a ballroom at the Georgia World Congress Center. Lunch consisted of sandwiches, tacos, chips, corn and black bean salad and iced tea. Mayor Shirley Franklin, Mayor-elect Kasim Reed and DWM Commissioner Rob Hunter addressed the gathering, expressing gratitude for the employees’ hard work during 2009 and reaffirming their confidence in employees’ ability to make 2010 even more productive. During the luncheon, the Department gave away a number of door prizes as incentive tokens.

Employees of the Department work at facilities all over the City; some may be as much as 30 miles from other locations. Consequently, the Department attempts to hold its employee meetings in central locations with plenty of parking. Additionally, meetings are often held during lunch to encourage attendance without sacrificing work schedules. In a DWM cost analysis prior to the employee luncheon, it was determined that holding the meeting during non-lunch hours could cost the Department as much as $52,000 in lost work time. Alternatively, the meeting at the GWCC, including food, parking and door prizes, cost half that amount for the entire department -- $25,000.

Some in the media would like to argue that the meeting represented a waste of ratepayer dollars. But it was the only Department-wide meeting held in 2009. The Department puts a high value on face-to-face communication with its employees. DWM is justifiably proud of the work done day in and day out by its dedicated employees. Taking the opportunity to express that pride and to encourage employees is important – both from personal satisfaction and job performance standpoints.

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The Department of Watershed Management provides drinking water and wastewater collection and treatment services to more than 1 million people over a 650-square-mile area.

Press releases