[Adopted as Ch. 10, Art. II, of the 1963 City Code (Ch. 141, Art. II, of the 1980 Code)]
The Inspector of Wires, appointed according to law and subject to the provisions of § 3-3 of Chapter 3, Administration of Government, shall possess all the powers, rights and privileges, perform all the duties and be subject to all the liabilities of such Inspector as defined by law or ordinance. He is hereby designated, under the provisions of Section 1 of Chapter 391 of the Acts of the year 1906, as the officer of the City to be vested with all the rights and powers and to be subject to all the duties and obligations conferred or imposed upon such officer by the provisions of that section, or by any other of the provisions of that Act. He shall receive such compensation for his services as the City Council may determine and provide.
The Inspector of Wires shall have power and authority, by and with the consent of the Mayor, to appoint one or more persons to act and serve as his deputies, such appointments to conform to all the provisions of law. All powers, rights and privileges and all duties and liabilities pertaining to the office of Inspector of Wires, except such powers, rights and privileges and such duties and liabilities as are conferred and imposed by the provisions of Chapter 391 of the Acts of the year 1906, are hereby conferred and imposed upon each such deputy.
The Inspector of Wires, shall, at reasonable intervals, inspect all electric wires and all poles and supports thereof, and all electrical apparatus within the City, except as otherwise hereinafter provided, in order to ascertain that they are free from decay, imperfections or other injuries rendering any of them liable to failure or to become a menace to the public safety. His inspections shall include the poles, wires and other electrical apparatus pertaining to the fire alarm telegraph and police signal telegraph systems of the City, and he shall immediately report to the City Electrician any dangerous or unsafe condition of or any other defect or failure in the poles, wires or other electrical apparatus of those systems.
The Inspector of Wires shall enforce all laws and ordinances and all orders of the City Council relating to electric wires, poles, supports, conduits, ducts and all other electrical apparatus within the City, whether overhead, underground or within buildings, public or private, and shall have the right during all reasonable hours to enter any building, manhole, duct or subway in the discharge of his official duties, or for the purpose of making any test or inspection of the wires, electrical apparatus or appliances therein contained. For such purposes he shall be granted prompt access to all buildings, public or private, and to all manholes, ducts and subways on application to the persons owning, leasing or operating or otherwise in charge or control of the same.
The Inspector of Wires shall cause to be filed in the office of the City Clerk at City Hall and shall preserve records, plans and specifications properly indexed, including locations, relocations, alterations and removals of all poles, supports, ducts, conduits and electrical apparatus over, in and under all streets, ways and places in the City, together with the names of the owners, lessees or operators of each and all such wires, systems and apparatus. For this purpose any person now owning, operating or using wires carrying an electric current on, over or under any street or building shall, within a reasonable time after request therefor by the Inspector of Wires, furnish the Inspector with a written statement in detail of the number and location of its posts and poles, the number of crossarms on each, the number of wires thereto attached and the location of all subways, manholes and service connections, which statement shall particularly specify and distinguish the area and limits of the territory wherein power is furnished for the telegraph, the telephone, electric light and electric power, the number and location of lamps, motors or other appliances, together with full information of the method of operating such wires. Every person hereafter granted a location for or a permit to install any new system for the transmission of electricity, or for any addition to or extension of any existing system, shall, upon the request of the Inspector, within 30 days after the receipt of such request in writing, furnish him with a detailed statement as aforesaid and with plans and specifications thereof, which shall be in form and size to the satisfaction of the Inspector.
The Inspector of Wires shall have full charge of and supervision over all electric wires, wiring systems and apparatus belonging to the City, except the fire alarm telegraph and police signal telegraph systems, and shall see that the same are kept at all tunes in good repair and working order. All work required to be done on any City wires or apparatus shall be done by or charged to the department to which such wires or apparatus particularly belong.
The Inspector of Wires shall keep a full and complete record of all work done by him or by his deputies and of complaints made in writing concerning violations of law and ordinances; of all permits issued, inspections or examinations made and other official acts performed by him or his deputies as required by this chapter; and a full and complete account of all moneys received and expended by him or them in connection therewith. The record and account shall at all times be subject to the inspection of the City Council, the Mayor and the Auditor of Accounts. These records shall be so arranged as to afford full information at any time concerning the condition and general arrangement of any electrical equipment or installation at the time of the Inspector's last visit to or inspection of the same, either by himself or by any of his deputies. He shall report, within two weeks, back to the complainant, in writing, concerning any complaint in regard to violation of law or ordinance.[1]
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Editor's Note: Original § 141-17 of the 1980 Code, Annual report required; contents and use of report, which immediately followed this section, was deleted 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76.