Council approves three annual awards: employee, firefighter and junior citizen of year

The City of New Carlisle council voted to create three annual awards — employee of the year, firefighter of the year and junior citizen of the year — and authorized staff to draft nomination forms and a public process for selecting recipients.

A council member moved to create three awards and the motion carried by a 5‑2 vote. Vice Mayor Eggleston and one other councilmember voted “no”; Mayor Cook, Councilwoman Growe, Councilman Bond, Councilman Sheehan and Councilman Lindsay voted “yes.” The meeting record states the motion was “accepted at 5 to 2.”

Council directed staff to draft nomination forms and set nomination rules; staff said nominations would be accepted electronically and via a paper form and recommended a single nomination per household. Staff said nomination materials and deadlines would be published in the city newsletter and posted on the city website. The planned timeline discussed was to accept nominations during 2025 with a likely awarding in October or November, depending on the calendar the city sets.

Council debated categories and limits. Several members suggested limiting the number of award categories to preserve prestige; other members urged a junior citizen award to encourage youth participation and suggested a small certificate or letter from the mayor for the junior recipient. Council indicated that the employee award would be handled internally (nominations from co‑workers) and the fire department would set criteria for the firefighter award.

The vote did not include a budget appropriation; staff estimated the physical cost for trophies or certificates at roughly $25–$50 each and said that if three awards were made annually the out‑of‑pocket printing/trophy costs would be modest. The council member who will draft the nomination forms said she would return the draft to council for feedback before publishing.