Tallahassee, Florida - A lot of state employees are always looking to save a dime in government. On Thursday, many of them were honored for coming up with ideas that saved state government nearly $500 million last year.
More than 500 workers and teams of employees received awards at the Prudential-Davis Productivity Awards.
Florida TaxWatch President Dominic Calabro says government does not always encourage efficiency, but in these cases the employees went above and beyond the call of duty.
"These are the men and women that rise against those disincentives and rise against the tide and demonstrate through their lives and commitment that they can serve the people of Florida with better stewardship and that's what we want to reward, recognize and replicate year after year after year."
Cesar Torres of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation was one of the award winners. He was on a cruise when he noticed the ship was selling unstamped cigarettes. Further investigation revealed a lot of cruise ships were not paying taxes on cigarettes or package sales on board.
His efforts will bring in about $3 million in back taxes to Florida.
Since the productivity awards started in 1989, state employees are credited with generating ideas that have saved government more than $7 billion.
Dave Heller