A.
There shall be a Department of Public Works headed
by a Commissioner of Public Works who shall be appointed on the basis
of his or her experience and qualifications for office by the County
Executive to serve at his or her pleasure, subject to the confirmation
by the County Legislature.
B.
Powers and duties. Except as otherwise provided in
this Charter, the Administrative Code or state law, the Commissioner
of Public Works shall:
(1)
Have all powers and duties of a county engineer and
a county superintendent of highways, pursuant to the Highway Law or
other applicable law;
(2)
Have such powers and duties in relation to County
facilities for drainage, flood control, sanitation, sewage, or water
supply as may be prescribed by the County Legislature;
(3)
Furnish engineering and other services to the County
Legislature, County Executive, the Department of Planning and other
County departments as authorized;
(4)
Have charge of and have the duty of performing such
other functions concerning County real and personal property, public
works and other matters as the County Executive and Legislature may,
from time to time, direct;
(5)
Have charge and supervision of routine maintenance
of equipment, repair and storage buildings and facilities used by
the Department, including highway substations, and all parking areas
serving these facilities;
(6)
Have charge and supervision of the design, construction
and alteration of the County buildings, parking fields and lots, drives,
walks, preserves, beaches, and other public structures and facilities
under the jurisdiction of the County;
(7)
Have charge and supervision of maintenance, repair
and alteration of buildings owned or leased by the County, parking
fields and lots, drives, walks, preserves, beaches and other public
structures and facilities under the jurisdiction of the County, including
custodial care; and
(8)
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter and subject
to the requirements of state law, have the authority to appoint and
remove all officers and employees of the Department of Public Works.
A.
Subject to approval by the County Executive, the Commissioner
of Public Works shall specify in writing, and in order of succession,
the Deputy Commissioner or Deputy Commissioners and/or other assistants
who shall be Acting Commissioner of Public Works in the event of his
or her absence from the County or inability to perform and exercise
the powers and duties of his or her office. This specification shall
be filed with the County Clerk and the Clerk of the Legislature and
may be revoked at any time by the Commissioner filing an approved
new written designation and order of succession.
B.
The designated Deputy Commissioner of Public Works
shall be Acting Commissioner of Public Works in the event of the Commissioner's
absence from the County or inability to perform and exercise the powers
and duties of the office for no more than 30 days. If the absence
or inability of the Commissioner of Public Works shall extend for
over 30 days or in the event there is no designated deputy, an Acting
Commissioner of Public Works shall be appointed by the County Executive,
subject to the County Legislature's confirmation, for a period not
to exceed a total of 180 days in addition to the initial thirty-day
period, or for the entire two-hundred-ten-day period as appropriate.
If the inability of the Commissioner of Public Works shall extend
over 210 days, the County Executive, subject to County Legislature
confirmation, shall appoint a Commissioner of Public Works. An Acting
Commissioner of Public Works shall file his or her designation and
oath of office as such with the County Clerk.
C.
An Acting Commissioner of Public Works shall have
all the powers and duties of the Commissioner during the period of
his or her designation and until his or her successor shall be appointed
and qualified under this section or until a new Commissioner of Public
Works is appointed and qualified pursuant to law.
There shall be an Engineering Division within
the Department of Public Works staffed by licensed mechanical and
structural engineers, responsible to the Commissioner of Public Works
and under his or her supervision, charged with planning, supervision
and oversight of construction and rehabilitation projects for all
County highways, structures, water, sewer and flood control projects
and other County facilities.
The County Legislature shall have the power,
by local legislation, to establish such rules and regulations as may
be necessary to provide for use by the public of facilities under
the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works and to provide
for the enforcement thereof.
