Department of Public Works Reorganization
Published: 2/12/2003
Over the years, the Town Board and I have been committed to continually looking for ways to streamline our town government and make it as efficient as possible. We look for efficiencies that will improve the way we deliver services to residents. We also look for efficiencies that will assure that our manpower and equipment are aligned in the most cost-effective way possible.
One of the largest departments in our organization is the Department of Public Works. As many of you know, I spent my first thirteen years with the town as Commissioner of Public Works and am very familiar with its day-to-day activities. The Department of Public Works is comprised of three distinct functional areas.
One functional area deals with the overall administration of all Public Works services. Tom Elliot, Commissioner of Public Works and his Secretary are responsible for the planning and implementation of services and projects, they are responsible for the preparing and oversight of an annual budget of almost $6 million, they are responsible for over 60 employees and they are responsible for overall coordination with neighborhood groups, individual residents, other levels of government as well as other departments within the town.
A second functional area deals with planning, zoning and development. Marty Brewster, our Deputy Commissioner of Public Works, is assisted by two Building Inspectors, a Fire Marshal, a Planning and Zoning Administrator, an Inspector for new development, as well as clerical support. Their responsibilities include issues related to the approval and construction of new development, enforcement of the zoning and New York State Building Codes both from the standpoint of building and fire. This area of Public Works is responsible for working with the Planning Board, Zoning Board, Architectural Review Board, Historic Preservation Board and Environmental Board. They also have a tremendous amount of contact with the residents regarding property and/or development questions and issues.
The third functional area deals with many of the essential services we provide our residents including Highway, Sewer, Equipment Maintenance, Building Maintenance, and Parks. This area makes up the largest portion of our budget with over $3 million dollars to support 68 full time and 11 part time/seasonal employees, over one half million dollars annually in capital projects and total annual expenses in excess of one million dollars. In total these services represent 43% of the town's annual operating budget. Additionally, they are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of our major capital assets including vehicles and equipment, buildings, land, highways, sewers which have an estimated value of over eleven million dollars.
Through the years, the Town Board and I have attempted to refine the structure of Public Works by focusing major responsibilities on the Commissioner of Public Works. To accomplish this we have eliminated a number of positions that we felt were redundant including Deputy Superintendent of Highways and Superintendent of Sewers. Recently we assigned the Parks Department to Public Works and have not replaced the position of Director of Parks, formerly held by Doug Morgenfeld.
In our review of the Department of Public Works we have discovered that Commissioner of Public Works as well as our operations staff need more support. The Commissioner of Public Works has many duties and responsibilities and needs someone within the department who can remain focused on the day-to-day services provided in each functional area. We have also found that the operations team would benefit by having someone who can help with planning for services, budgeting, and constituent services.
As such, at our Town Board meeting on February 4, we approved a reorganization plan for Public Works that will reflect the organization that currently exists. Tom Elliot remains as our Commissioner of Public Works and responsible for the overall administration of Public Works. Under him we have created two deputy positions that will be responsible for the functional areas. Marty Brewster has been named Director of Planning, Zoning and Development. This is a title that is more accurately aligned and better describes the work that Marty has done for the past decade. Marty is a valuable member of our team who has helped the Town become one of the recognized leaders in planning process, water quality and cell towers. This new title will help to clarify the role he plays for the Town with staff, residents and other planning officials.
On the operations side of Public Works, we have hired Ed Starowicz, Jr. as Deputy Commissioner of Public Works, whose role will be aligned with the Highway, Sewer, Equipment, Building and Parks services. Ed, a Pittsford resident, comes to us with over twenty years of experience in the private sector that includes planning, budgeting, project management, customer relations and safety. His primary function will be to have daily interaction with the foremen of the various service areas and assure that we continue to have the manpower and equipment resources needed to provide a high level of customer service. Ed is an important addition to our staff and we believe that he will be welcomed by employees and residents alike.
This reorganization of Public Works makes tremendous sense for our organization. It separates a complex department into manageable areas which will make it more approachable and understandable to all that interact with the Department of Public Works.
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