Renee Lathan Earns PSEA Excellence Award
Renee Lathan from the Ministry of Finance has earned the Public Service Excellence Award [PSEA] for January.
A Government spokesperson said, “Last week, Premier David Burt and the Head of the Public Service, Dr. Derrick Binns recognised the Ministry of Finance’s Renee Lathan as the recipient of the January [2023] Government of Bermuda’s Public Service Excellence Award.
“As the community is aware, the PSEA is a programme recognizes Public Officers who are demonstrating admirable service delivery. Each month an individual or team is selected for their significant accomplishments in the last 60 days.
“Ms. Lathan is a Technical Support Officer at the Office of the Tax Commissioner. She is being recognized for providing outstanding support for the Payroll Tax Relief Benefit Programme.
“In December 2022, the Ministry of Finance received over 5,000 applications for payroll tax rebates. To ensure that applications were processed in a timely manner, a highly skilled resource with technical knowledge and excellent customer service experience was required to work with the general public.
“Ms. Lathan independently accomplished a massive administrative undertaking by working with various stakeholders to ensure all clients received timely responses to queries and were assisted to the highest standards.
“Furthermore, this innovative first-time programme presented numerous unprecedented operational challenges which Ms Lathan successfully navigated and resolved within the narrow deadlines. Ultimately the Government awarded over $872,000 to eligible persons making less than $96,000.”
Premier and Minister of Finance David Burt said, “Manning the queries inbox was an essential part of the programme that required customer service skills and knowledge of the programme. Ms. Lathan was the only person who was fully capable of this and she contributed well beyond the call of duty, even whilst on leave.”
Head of the Public Service, Dr. Derrick Binns said, “Piloting a project as complex as this one requires a lot of patience and accountability to ensure that the Government delivers on its promises to the public. I applaud Ms Lathan for taking on this huge responsibility with such a cooperative attitude. Congratulations on your recognition! And thank you for representing the Public Service to the highest standards.”
