Town increases morale with birthday awards

GILBERT, Ariz., July 23 (UPI) -- Officials in Gilbert, Ariz., say they are hoping to boost workers' morale by reinstating a program to give town employees free movie passes on their birthdays.

Gilbert's 1,200 workers will be given a free movie pass and certificate acknowledging their birthdays after the town council decided Tuesday to keep the program, the Arizona Republic reported.

Gilbert officials said they are willing to fork over $7,000 for the birthday program after worker moral problems began surfacing amid budget cuts.

"We want to solve a morale problem and we'll do what we can within the constraints we're dealt with," Vice Mayor Joan Krueger said.

Employee perks, such as a picnic, birthday certificates, recognitions and service awards all faced being cut from the budget this year, the newspaper said.