Suggestions for improving government operations continue to pay off for both the employee and the government, the Civil Service Assembly says.

A New York state employee won a $2,500 merit-award, largest ever given by New York, for developing a dispenser used in painting reflectorized white lines on state highways. Estimates were that the suggestion would save the state more than $20,000.

In Cincinnati, O., where there is a formal City Employees' Suggestion System set up in honor of a mayor who died in office, the largest of nine awards—$125—went for a suggestion that will save the city between $1,000 and $3,000 a year. It was a method of steaming off scotchlite labels on city vehicles.

Previously, labels that designated "Police" or some other city department were ground off when the vehicles were turned in for new ones or converted to some other use. This process meant damaging the paint. But the new steaming process brings the label off in the same way a label on an empty cheese jar comes off in hot dish water.

In Elgin, Ill., suggestions that are adopted will be reported in the employee's personnel folder to be considered when salary raises or promotions are made.

ILLINOIS MUNICIPAL REVIEW—THE VOICE OF ILLINOIS MUNICIPALITIES 5