Special Notice / Hearing: None
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michelle Kuka, Interim Human Resources Director
Subject: 2025 Light Bulb Awards Recipients
RECOMMENDATION:
title
Measure K: Adopt a resolution approving the 2025 Light Bulb Awards recipients and award $1,000 to each winner for a total of $8,000.
body
BACKGROUND:
On June 10, 2025, the Board considered and approved District 1’s request to use their district-discretionary Measure K funds to support an Employee Suggestion Program focused on generating ideas relating to cost savings, operational efficiencies, and improvements. The program was launched as the Light Bulb Ideas Program and is further described in the Discussion section of this memorandum.
While the County has an employee suggestion program via the STARS Awards Innovation Summit held every other year, it is focused on County teams pitching ideas on new initiatives and programs. The 2025 Light Bulb Ideas Program aligned with the spirit of ongoing innovation while improving operational efficiencies for the residents of San Mateo County. It also promotes the County’s culture of recognition and acknowledges that County employees are talented, mission-driven individuals committed to identifying solutions to improve people’s lives.
DISCUSSION:
Employees submitted their suggestions via a new employee portal that was open from August 1st to September 22nd, 2025. Submissions were required to follow the guidelines developed by the Human Resources Department, including a description of the current problem; proposed solution and rationale; estimated benefits or cost savings; potential impact on the County government’s efficiency and effectiveness; and implementation considerations (if known).
Sixty-four (64) ideas were submitted. Each submission included an infographic or slide deck detailing the description of the issue, the proposed solution, estimated benefits/cost savings, potential impact on the efficiency/effectiveness, and feasibility. The submissions were reviewed by a panel of judges, and the top eight ideas were selected based on impact, estimated cost savings, and feasibility. Each individual winner will receive a cash prize of $1,000.
The individuals who were selected include:
|
Award |
Employee Name |
Suggestion |
|
$1,000 |
Bycha Buxton |
An AI solution that combines Smart Intake for classification and routing, AI-assisted bilingual draft responses, and a curated information library to deliver consistent, accurate, and accessible answers. |
|
$1,000 |
Cari Guittard |
Partnering with local high schools to create a Disaster Service Corps of trained youth who can provide trauma-informed childcare during EOC activations, disasters, and extended training exercises. |
|
$1,000 |
Craig Baumgartner |
The "Adopt-a-Spot" Community Improvement Initiative proposes a program whereby San Mateo County departments (or cross-department alliances of motivated employees) volunteer to maintain small, publicly accessible county-owned or managed spaces, like mini-parks, landscaped medians, portions of public trails, or the grounds around county buildings. |
|
$1,000 |
Michael Richardson |
AI-powered solutions designed to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve service delivery including AI email/document summarization, AI virtual assistant, AI predictive maintenance, AI case file summarization, and an AI translation service. |
|
$1,000 |
Mohammad Habib |
A smart-route planner for field visits that auto-orders staff’s daily client stops to increase travel efficiency. |
|
$1,000 |
Sandra Perez |
Purchasing new prefilled Shingrix syringe simplifies the vaccine administration process as the existing vaccine consists of two vials that must be combined before administration. |
|
$1,000 |
Simone Sagapolu |
The County currently honors employees at the 10, 20, and 30-year milestones, yet our average length of service is 9.7 years. Establishing a 5-year milestone event ensures contributions are celebrated sooner, strengthening loyalty and building the foundation for long-term service. |
|
$1,000 |
Theisha Rush |
Creating mental health kits for youth experiencing emotional and psychological distress at the Youth Services Center. |
The County Attorney’s Office has reviewed and approved the resolution as to form.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
|
Measure |
Target |
|
Number of suggestions submitted totals 50 or greater |
Complete |
FISCAL IMPACT:
There will be no fiscal impact from the passing of this resolution as funds were previously approved and transferred to the Human Resources Department for implementation of this program.