City of Amsterdam, NY Article IX Public Works Department

§ C-53 Public Works Department.

There shall be a Public Works Department which shall be headed by the Director of Public Works, who shall also be the City Engineer. The Department shall consist of such divisions as the Common Council may authorize.

§ C-54 Director of Public Works.

The Director of Public Works shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the Common Council from the competitive class of the civil service. He shall be a professional engineer licensed by the State of New York.

§ C-55 (Reserved) [1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former § C-55, Building Inspector, as amended, was repealed 7-5-2006 by L.L. No. 7-2006.

§ C-56 Powers, duties and responsibilities of Director of Public Works.

The powers, duties and responsibilities of the Director of Public Works shall include:

A. Performance of all duties now or hereafter assigned to the City Engineer.

B. Responsibility for the supervision and direction of all of the activities of the Department and for all engineering work of the City.

C. Responsibility for the construction, maintenance, cleaning and repair of streets, sidewalks, sewers, public parking lots, retaining walls, public buildings, facilities and structures, except as may otherwise be provided by law, and for the collection and disposal of solid wastes and other refuse from residential structures and such other places as the Common Council may determine. In administering the streets and sewerage facilities of the City, the Director of Public Works shall assure that private developers have satisfactorily discharged their responsibilities for construction of streets and sewer lines through subdivisions.

D. Responsibility for the supervision of consulting engineers when retained by the Common Council for specific purposes.

E. Supervision and administration on behalf of the City of all contracts for public construction or public services.

F. House numbering, streetlighting and, at the direction of the Chief of Police, installation, maintenance and removal of the traffic control devices, signs and markings.

G. Planting, care and removal of trees and shrubs located on City property.

H. Provision, as the Common Council may provide, for the maintenance and repair of all City vehicles and equipment, other than office equipment, including the maintenance of suitable and accurate use and repair records for all such vehicles and equipment.

I. Have custody of all City maps and surveys, except as otherwise provided in this Charter or other law.

J. Recommend to the Mayor and the Common Council the adoption of such standard technical codes as he believes to be needed for the safety and well-being of the City's residents.

K. Certification of all public work performed pursuant to contract under supervision and control of the Department before it is accepted, to the effect that such work is performed in a good and substantial manner, with the materials required and of the quality and in the manner directed by the terms of the contract. The Director of Public Works shall file such certificate of completion with the City Clerk and Controller before final payment is made under the contract.

L. Subject to civil service law, rules and regulations, the Director of Public Works shall appoint assistants and other employees of the Department to fill such positions within the Department as are authorized by the Common Council. The Director of Public Works may also suspend and remove all assistants and other employees of the Department subject to civil service law, rules and regulations.

M. In addition to the duties assigned to the Director of Public Works by this Charter or required by ordinance or resolution of the Common Council, the Director shall perform any similar or related duties incident to the functions of the Department as may be assigned by the Mayor.

N. The Director of Public Works shall attend meetings of the Common Council.

§ C-57 Division of Building and Zoning Enforcement.

[Amended 12-18-1990 by L.L. No. 2-1990; 7-17-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007; 7-7-2009 by L.L. No. 3-2009]

There shall be a Division of Building and Zoning Enforcement, the head of which shall be the Code Enforcement Supervisor, whose duties and responsibilities shall include, but not be limited, to the enforcement in the City of Amsterdam of the State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and such other standard codes as the Common Council may adopt on behalf of the City. The Code Enforcement Supervisor shall be the Chief Code Enforcement Officer within the Division of Building and Zoning Enforcement. The Mayor shall appoint such Code Enforcement Supervisor, Building Inspectors, Housing Inspectors, Plumbing Inspectors, Electrical Inspectors and Code Enforcement Officers as shall from time to time be authorized by the Common Council, which inspectors and officers shall serve at the Mayor's discretion. The Code Enforcement Supervisor shall have the responsibility for registration of and investigation into any and all bona-fide code violation complaints pertaining to new construction, existing buildings commercial or residential and the Zoning Ordinance.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Section 9.10, Powers and duties of the Assistant City Engineer, amended by L.L. No. 7-1989, ref. date 11-7-1989, which immediately followed this section, was deleted 12-18-1990 by L.L. No. 2-1990.

§ C-58 Zoning Board of Appeals.

The Zoning Board of Appeals of the City shall continue as presently constituted and empowered in Chapter 250, Zoning, of the Code of the City of Amsterdam and other applicable law.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Section 9.14, Board of Code Enforcement Appeals, which immediately followed this section, was deleted 12-18-1990 by L.L. No. 2-1990.