There shall be a department of public works which shall consist of the director of public works, a chief engineer, a superintendent of buildings, a superintendent of the garage, and such other officers and employees as may be prescribed by ordinance. There shall be in the department divisions of engineering, building maintenance, garage, and such other divisions and organizational units as may be established on the recommendation of the mayor by ordinance not inconsistent with this Charter; provided that the organization of the department of public works in force at the effective date of this Charter shall continue in force until altered as above provided. The department of public works shall be responsible for:
(a) 
The planning, design and construction or supervision of the construction of all streets, highways, bridges, sewers, drains, sewage treatment plants, pumping stations and, subject to the provisions of section 11.03, public buildings and their grounds, and all manner of structures and works;
(b) 
The care, maintenance and repair of the same including the provision of heat, light, water, air conditioning and janitor services in buildings and the care of the grounds in which they stand, except as hereinafter specified in this chapter;
(c) 
The supervision of the operation of street lighting contracts;
(d) 
The operation of sewage treatment plants;
(e) 
The collection and disposal of ashes, garbage and other refuse when undertaken by the city or the supervision of contracts for that purpose;
(f) 
The cleaning of streets, alleys and other public places;
(g) 
The planting, trimming, spraying, care and removal of trees, shrubs and vines in the right of way of streets, and the performance until otherwise provided by ordinance of all powers and duties hitherto conferred or imposed on the tree warden;
(h) 
The operation of a garage for the maintenance, repair and storage of such city-owned cars, trucks and other motorized equipment as the council may prescribe by ordinance;
(i) 
The performance of such other duties as may be required by ordinance.
The director of public works shall be the head of the department and ex officio city engineer. The director of public works shall be an engineer licensed to practice his profession in the State of Rhode Island and shall have had at least five years' experience in highway or public works administration. The director of public works shall be appointed and removed by the mayor as provided in section 5.02. The director of public works shall have and exercise except as otherwise provided in this Charter all the powers and duties conferred or imposed on surveyors of highways and city engineers by the laws of the state together with all the powers and duties hitherto conferred or imposed on the commissioner of public works or which may hereafter be conferred or imposed on the director of public works by ordinance. Subject to the supervision and control of the mayor the director of public works shall be in the direct command of the department of public works and responsible for the efficiency of all its divisions and other units. The director of public works shall appoint and remove, subject to the provisions of chapter 14, all other officers and employees of the department.
(Approved at referendum 11/3/1998)
There shall be in the department of public works a division of engineering which shall consist of the chief engineer and such other licensed engineers and other employees as may be prescribed by ordinance. The chief engineer shall be licensed to practice the profession of engineering in the State of Rhode Island and shall have had at least five years' experience in design and supervision of construction of public buildings or other works. It shall be the duty of the division of engineering:
(a) 
Design and prepare plans, specifications and estimates of the cost of street improvements, bridges, sewers, drains, treatment plants and all manner of public buildings, structures and works when so directed by the council, the mayor or the school buildings committee;
(b) 
Supervise the construction of any of the above projects then undertaken by the city and no payment shall be made to any contractor for work or materials furnished in connection with any such project except on the basis of the certificate of the chief engineer that such contractor has completed the whole or a specified portion of the work in accordance with the terms of the contract;
(c) 
Prepare on request and supply to the city assessor, city clerk, planning commission or city solicitor such surveys, maps, plats and drawings as may be needed in the performance of their duties;
(d) 
Serve as the repository where they shall be open to public inspection during business hours, of all surveys, maps, plate, plans, designs and sketches relating to the location and character of streets, bridges, sewers, water mains, hydrants and other buildings, structures and utilities which are not required by law to be deposited elsewhere.
(Approved at referendum 11/3/1998)
There shall be in the department of public works a division of building maintenance which shall consist of the superintendent of buildings and such other employees as may be prescribed by ordinance. The superintendent of buildings shall have had at least five years' experience in the construction or maintenance of buildings. The duties of the division of building maintenance except as hereinafter specified shall be to:
(a) 
Maintain and repair all buildings owned by the city and occupied by any of its departments, boards, commissions, offices and agencies;
(b) 
Care for the grounds on which such buildings stand; and,
(c) 
Furnish heat, light, water, air conditioning and janitor service to such buildings.
The cost of these services in the case of all buildings occupied by a single department shall be charged to that department and paid from the operating budget appropriation for that department. In the case of buildings under the jurisdiction of the school committee the use of the services of the division of building maintenance shall be optional with the school committee and if used the cost thereof shall be charged to the school committee.