[HISTORY: Adopted as indicated in text (Ch. 60 of the 1990 Code of Public Local Laws). Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1972, ch. 629, § 1]
There shall be a Department of Public Works of the County, the head of which department shall be the Director of Public Works.
[1972, ch. 629, § 1; 1988, ch. 227, § 2; amended 11-13-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-12]
The County Executive, in accordance with the Charter, shall appoint a suitable person as Director of Public Works and, with the advice of the County Executive, shall appoint such assistants, aides, clerks, stenographers and other field and office help as may be necessary for the proper administration of the Department of Public Works created hereunder. The Director of Public Works shall be a professional engineer registered under the laws of this state. The County Executive, when appointing a Director of Public Works, shall give first consideration to the qualifications of those who are graduates in engineering from a recognized college or technical school of collegiate grade. The Director of Public Works shall be a person of broad experience and high standing in the engineering profession, and shall have had responsible charge of engineering works over a period of at least five years. If the person appointed as Director of Public Works is not a graduate in engineering from a recognized college or technical school of collegiate grade, he shall have had not less than 10 years' experience in engineering, during five years of which he shall have been in responsible charge of important engineering projects. The Deputy Director of Public Works may be a professional engineer registered under the laws of this state. The Director of Public Works may be removed from office at any time in the discretion of the County Executive; and his compensation shall be fixed for his services by the County Executive from time to time.
[1972, ch. 629]
The organization of the Department of Public Works shall consist of the Director of Public Works as Chairman, the divisions or subdepartments which may be created under the general authority of this section and the following County offices, which shall be considered subdepartments of the Department of Public Works:
A. 
Roads Engineer.
B. 
Supervisor of Solid Waste.
[1972, ch. 629, § 1]
A. 
All of the subdepartments of the Department of Public Works shall continue to perform and to execute the duties and obligations and to exercise the rights, powers, functions and privileges now or hereafter conferred upon them by any public local or public general laws; except that all of the subdepartments shall be subject to the control, supervision and direction of the Director of Public Works. The Director of Public Works shall be the final arbiter of all questions and controversies of any kind or nature that may arise within, between or among any of the subdepartments.
B. 
The Director of Public Works shall have power and it shall be his duty to coordinate the functions and operations of the subdepartments constituting the Department of Public Works, to the end that all unnecessary waste and duplication of effort may be eliminated. He shall see to it that no subdepartment unnecessarily maintains duplicate equipment or personnel which should be centralized in one bureau and is empowered to centralize any such unnecessary duplication of work or personnel in one or more subdepartments for the purpose of eliminating such duplications and likewise shall have power to assign and reassign equipment from the custody of one subdepartment to another subdepartment, as he may deem expedient. Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of public local law concerning public works construction, preparation, approval and signature of plats, drawings, deeds or other documents by the Roads Engineer, Chief Sanitary Engineer or other subdepartments of the Department of Public Works, the same shall be subject to reassignment by the Director of Public Works with the approval of the County to any division which may be created for the purpose of consolidating such operations as design, drafting, construction, inspection, maintenance operations, land acquisition, etc., in the interest of efficiency and economy.
[1972, ch. 629, § 1]
The Director of Public Works shall have supervision over all engineering questions and over all matters concerned or connected with any and every public improvement in the County or elsewhere, made by the County or any department, office, board, commission or agency thereof, and all plans and specifications of such public improvements shall be submitted to the Director of Public Works and be subject to his approval.
[1972, ch. 629, § 1]
The Director of Public Works shall perform such additional duties as may be required of him by the County Executive, and the County Executive shall have full and complete authority to reverse, alter or amend in any way any decision of the Director of Public Works.
[1972, ch. 629, § 1]
The Director of Public Works shall have the power to assign and reassign to and take from the subdepartments of the Department of Public Works the performance of any duties or the exercise of any powers incident to the conduct of the Department of Public Works as may seem to the Director of Public Works to be necessary and proper and, whenever it seems advisable, from time to time to transfer duties and powers from one subdepartment to another subdepartment, and from time to time to retransfer the same, in whole or in part.