Freeport, Ill., City Hall | City of Freeport IL - City Hall/Facebook
Freeport, Ill., City Hall | City of Freeport IL - City Hall/Facebook
The City Council of Freeport recently honored a number of City employees with Recognition of Service Awards for their years of contribution to the city.
Wayne Duckmann, director of Community and Economic Development, is in charge of dispersing the awards, and he noted that it is an honor he does not take lightly.
At the Jan. 3 City Council meeting, Police Chief Matt Summers recognized three of his officers who exemplified good service. Ben White was the first, a training officer in the department who instructs officers fresh out of the academy. He was recognized for five years of service in the department.
"Ben has completed over 8500 inspections for the City of Freeport in his time here, which, you know, roughly amounts to six and a half inspections per day," Summers said in the meeting. "He is also our only building inspector for the City, as well as our only plans examiner, and that carries with it a great weight of responsibility. In his five years here, he's done over 3000 permit reviews and that accounts for over $50 million worth of project costs. So many of the projects we talk about here and the past five years, Ben has reviewed and that's not a job that always goes with a high amount of notoriety, but it's extremely important. I just also wanted to say thank you for helping the other departments you help. Half your time goes to code enforcement and your dedication and public service motivation is highly appreciated. This year alone, you did 88 chronic nuisance cases. So I just wanted to end by saying thank you very much for your service."
The second officer recognized was Nicholas Rosenstein, who is also a training officer. Since he works for the emergency response team, he is always on the move. Rosenstein was also recently honored with a lifesaving award for his heroic actions at a City Council meeting. He was recognized for his five years of service.
The department also honored Cpl. Andrew Good for his ten years of service. In addition to being a field training officer, Good is also a member of the emergency response team.
Additionally, Benjamin Fritz of the Community Development team was recognized for his five years of work as a building inspector for the City.
Alerts Sign-up