[Adopted as §§ 2-108 through 2-117, 2-119
through 2-125, 2-134 through 2-137 of the 1965 Code]
[Amended 11-5-1969 by Ord. No. 659-69; 5-13-2008 by Ord. No. 086-08; 10-19-2010 by Ord. No.
245-10; 3-17-2020 by Ord. No. 57-2020]
There is hereby established a Department of
Public Works for the City of Fitchburg. The Department shall consist
of a Cemetery Division, which shall act as support for the Trustees
of Public Burial Grounds and have administrative charge of the public
cemeteries; a Parks Division, which shall act as support for the Board
of Park Commissioners; the Division of Streets; the Water Enterprise
Division; and the Wastewater Enterprise and Sewer Division, which
shall act as support for the Water-Wastewater Commission and have
administrative charge of the wastewater treatment plants, facilities
and public sewage systems. The Department shall cooperate and coordinate
its activities with the Department of Community Development in providing
support services to the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Planning Board,
the Conservation Commission and the Board of Park Commissioners.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
The Department of Public Works shall be under
the supervision of the Commissioner of Public Works, who shall also,
by virtue of his or her office, serve as City Engineer.
[Amended 7-6-2004 by Ord. No. 189-04; 6-3-2014 by Ord. No.
100-2014]]
The Commissioner of Public Works shall be a
person fitted by education, training and experience to efficiently
perform the duties of his or her office.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall be appointed
by the Mayor in accordance with civil service laws.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall have
the following powers and duties:
A.
The direct care and supervision of the construction,
alteration, layout, relocation, maintenance and repair of highways,
streets, sidewalks, bridges, sewers and water system of the City.
B.
The care, supervision and control of streetlighting.
C.
The general charge and supervision of streets and
ways of the City and keeping them in good repair and safe condition
for travel.
D.
The assigning of places in the highways or on public
ways for poles, the erection of which has been duly authorized.
E.
The making of all necessary and proper arrangements
for the cleaning of streets and collecting and disposing of ashes.
F.
The supervision of all public work of the City which
comes under his or her Department.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
G.
The performance of such engineering services and the
making of examinations and preparation of such plans and specifications
as may be needed by the City or any department or board thereof.
H.
The supervision of all repairs on City bridges used
as highways.
I.
The performance of the duties of a civil engineer
in connection with the making of surveys, levels and measurements,
laying out of streets, sidewalks, drains, sewers and other public
work delegated to or taken by his or her Department.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
J.
The performance of all other services properly connected
with his or her Department as may be required by the Mayor, Council
or any department or board of the City.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
K.
The employment, subject to the approval of the Mayor
and the Civil Service Act, of such assistants as he or she may deem
necessary to carry out the powers vested in him. The compensation
of such assistants shall be fixed by him, subject to the approval
of the Mayor.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
L.
The delegation, apportionment or transfer of his or
her various powers and duties to or among the various divisions of
his or her Department.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
M.
Have charge of the system of sewage disposal and the
construction, maintenance and repair of all main drains and common
sewers.
N.
Have the powers and be subject to the duties, liabilities
and penalties which are or may be, by law, given to or imposed upon
road commissioners of towns and surveyors of highways.
O.
Clerk of the Public Works Committee of the Council.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection P, regarding care and custody
of City Hall, added 4-6-1971 by Ord. No. 237-71,
as amended, and Subsection Q, regarding rental of City-owned public
buildings, added 5-13-2008 by Ord. No. 086-08, which immediately
followed this subsection, were repealed 3-17-2020 by Ord. No. 57-2020.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
The Commissioner of Public Works may make abatements
for water charges or any other obligations due the City for private
work done by his or her Department if, in his or her judgment, it
is reasonable and proper so to do. Whenever a bill is abated or changed,
a certificate of such abatement or change and the reason therefor,
signed by the Commissioner, shall be delivered to the City Treasurer
and shall become his or her voucher for the amount therein stated,
a duplicate thereof to be delivered simultaneously to the City Auditor.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
The Commissioner of Public Works shall keep
or cause to be kept a set of suitable records and shall record therein
the accounts of expenditures of the various divisions of his or her
Department, which shall show the expenditures for construction and
extension separate from the accounts for maintenance, and shall keep
them with such particularity as to properly differentiate between
the various divisions, the cost and expense thereof and of the various
types of work undertaken by each of such divisions.
[Amended 11-5-1969 by Ord. No. 659-69]
The Commissioner of Public Works may appoint
a Superintendent of Streets, subject to control and supervision by
him.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
The Commissioner of Public Works shall see to
it that no obstructions, nuisances or encroachments are suffered or
permitted to exist in any public way of the City and shall keep such
public ways in a clean and wholesome condition and remove or properly
dispose of ashes, house and apartment dirt and rubbish when placed
and prepared for proper removal according to his or her requirements.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of
Public Works to enforce the provisions of Chapter 19 of the General
Laws, and the enforcement of such chapter and its provisions shall
be under his or her supervision and control except as otherwise expressly
provided therein.
For the purpose of preservation and record of
plans, the Office of the City Engineer shall be considered a part
of every other office of the City.
[Amended 11-5-1969 by Ord. No. 659-69; 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
The Commissioner of Public Works may appoint
an Assistant Engineer, subject to his or her supervision.
A.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall make and have
charge of the plans of all the streets, drains, sewers, waterworks
and lands of the City and the notes relating to the same and shall
classify and put them in convenient form for reference and use.
B.
He or she shall draw the specifications for all construction
work and make all surveys, measurements, levels, designs, estimates,
plans and layouts pertaining to the streets, drains, sewers, waterworks,
bridges and lands of the City; shall supervise the construction of
same; and shall appoint and discharge the inspectors of the same when
such are employed.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
C.
He or she shall furnish such specifications and make
such surveys, measurements, designs, levels, estimates and plans as
may be required by the Mayor, the Council or any committee thereof.
He or she shall furnish the City Solicitor, at his or her request,
descriptions of lands and the details concerning any proposed taking
of lands or the location, widening, alteration or discontinuance of
streets.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
D.
He or she shall, when required so to do by the Mayor,
measure or cause to be measured all work done by contract for the
City and shall certify the same.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
The Commissioner of Public Works shall have
custody of all plans of the City and shall keep the same properly
classified and indexed, and he or she may make such rules and regulations
concerning the taking of plans from his or her office as he or she
may deem necessary to ensure their safety. All such plans shall be
open to public inspection at reasonable times.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall keep
a record of all street lines, deeds of the sale of property and all
other data and information that pertains to the physical layout of
the City, which records shall be open to public inspection at all
reasonable times.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
The Commissioner of Public Works shall have
and exercise all the rights and powers granted to the City or any
board or commission thereof by any general or special act of the Legislature
with reference to providing, furnishing or maintaining an adequate
water supply for the City or its inhabitants and shall have charge
of the aqueducts, lands, reservoirs and all other works and property
connected with the waterworks. He or she shall have full power to
make necessary repairs and replacements and shall operate such works
so as to accomplish the purposes for which they are designed, subject
to the provisions of special acts and the City Charter.
[Added 5-19-1993 by Ord. No. 100-93;[1] amended 5-13-2008 by Ord. No. 086-08; 6-3-2014 by Ord. No.
100-2014]
A.
Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Public Works
for Water Supply. The Commissioner may appoint a person to be the
Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Public Works for Water Supply,
subject to his or her supervision and control. The Deputy Commissioner
must be certified by the Massachusetts Board of Certification of Operators
of Drinking Water Supply Facilities as a Grade IV operator, must have
a bachelor's degree in environmental sciences and/or management and
must have 10 years' experience in the field of water supply, including
therein five years in a management capacity. The Deputy Commissioner
shall be responsible for planning and directing the repair and maintenance
of reservoirs, dams, gatehouses, spillways and the land surrounding
the same, testing and treating water supply for quality control; constructing;
maintaining and repair of water mains and service connections, maintaining
the water service system, including pumping stations, fire lines,
hydrants and water meters. The Deputy Commissioner shall analyze population
and industrial growth trends to determine the adequacy of current
facilities and to plan methods and sequence of operations additions,
deletions or modifications to the water supply system and shall perform
such other related work as the Commissioner may desire. Notwithstanding
provisions of the Code of the City of Fitchburg, the appointee shall
be entitled to such benefits as negotiated by the Mayor and approved
by the Council.
B.
Water Quality Manager. The Commissioner may appoint
a person to be Water Quality Manager of the Department of Public Works
Water Division subject to his or her supervision and control. Under
the direction of the Deputy Commissioner, the Water Quality Manager
supervises and directs all operations relative to the storage, treatment
and testing of the City's water supply to meet the requirements for
safe, potable drinking water.
(1)
The Water Quality Manager shall have at least a bachelor
of science degree in biology, microbiology, chemistry or environmental
science and two years' experience in a drinking water supply facility.
Five years' supervisory experience in water quality management and
a Grade 3 drinking water supply facilities operator certification
in water system operation and maintenance may be substituted for two
years of college education. Ability and willingness to obtain a Grade
4 drinking water supply facilities operator certification within two
years.
(2)
The Water Quality Manager shall have the following
responsibilities:
(a)
Responsible for all water quality requirements
in the watershed areas, plants and distribution system.
(b)
Supervise watershed, plant and laboratory personnel
in the execution of their duties.
(c)
Supervise the operation of treatment and testing
facilities and watersheds.
(d)
Responsible for the implementation of all aspects
of the Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.
(e)
Oversee forestry activities in the watershed.
(f)
Assist in the development of new programs and
the writing and facilitating of grant proposals.
(g)
Perform all other related duties as required
for maintaining EPA- and DEP-acceptable drinking water.
(h)
Perform such other duties as may be required
by the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner.
C.
Water System Manager. The Commissioner may appoint
a person to be Water System Manager of the Department of Public Water
Division subject to his or her supervision and control. Under the
direction of the Deputy Commissioner for Water Supply, the Water System
Manager supervises and directs all operations relating to the maintenance
of the water supply distribution system. The Water System Manager
shall meet the following minimal requirements:
(1)
Civil or other appropriate engineering degree and
five years' experience in water works operation and maintenance or
10 years' experience in water works development and operation, including
five years in a supervisory role, and a Grade 4 drinking water supply
facilities operator certification in water system operation and maintenance.
A Massachusetts Class 3 license is also required.
(2)
The Water System Manager shall have the following
duties:
(a)
Supervise, direct and control, through the foremen,
work of assigned crews engaged in constructing, maintaining and repairing
water mains, gates, equipment, buildings, pumps and other related
equipment or structures.
(b)
Supervise, direct and control, through the foremen,
the work of assigned crews engaged in the installation, testing, repairing
and maintaining of water service connections and lines.
(c)
Prepare cost estimates for service and main
installations, renewals and repairs.
(d)
Make regular rounds of assigned projects to
inspect conditions, ensure compliance with departmental procedures
and practices and provide technical advice and assistance to foremen.
(e)
Develop and maintain records, reports and control
systems as required, including computer operations dealing with fixed
assets, records and water works maintenance.
(f)
Responsible for adherence to City and division
policies and handling of distribution system personnel problems.
(g)
Review all water distribution system plans and
specifications submitted to the City by developers, contractors and
others.
(h)
Oversee all contracted work for water main and
water service repairs.
(i)
Perform all other related duties as directed
by the Department of Public Works Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection D, giving charge of municipal
facilities to the Facilities Manager, which immediately followed this
subsection, was repealed 3-17-2020 by Ord. No. 57-2020.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former § 3-108, Appointment of Water Registrar and Superintendent,
as amended.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
The Commissioner may, subject to the approval
of the Council, establish rules and regulations relating to the installation
or use of water and the rate to be charged therefor and for water
meters and such other matters as are incidental thereto. He or she
shall not make a charge to any department of the City for water used
by it.
[Amended 11-5-1969 by Ord. No. 659-69; 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
The Commissioner of Public Works shall see that
the rules and regulations of the Department and of the Council relating
to the use of water are strictly observed and fully enforced by himself
or herself or his or her agent and shall perform such other services
appertaining to his or her office as may be required of him or her
by the Mayor or Council.
[Amended 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
The Commissioner of Public Works shall have
charge of the work of building all main and common sewers ordered
to be built by the Council. He or she shall have the general superintendence
of keeping in repair and operating all main and common sewers after
they are built and the construction and keeping in repair of all sewers
for private use situated within the street limits. He or she shall
have all the powers in connection with sewers and sewage disposal
granted to the City or any board or commission thereof by any special
or general act of the Legislature and shall perform all duties required
of the City or any board or commission thereof.
[Amended 11-5-1969 by Ord. No. 659-69; 6-3-2014 by Ord. No. 100-2014]
The Commissioner of Public Works may appoint
a person who is a chemist to have charge of the sewage disposal plant
of the City. He or she may also appoint a person to have charge of
sewer installation, maintenance and repair or he or she may delegate
such duties to other persons in his or her Department.
