El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-09-26
OUT Of
CITY BUSINESS
Plan for Consolidating De
partments to Obtain More
Efficient Work.

G444G4C4lg W VI a.
= Much interest has been manifested
r in the proposed ordinance rearrang-
: ing the functions Of the city govern
5 mental officers, offered to the city
council by the Taxpayers league of
the city. The principal change is the
consolidation OF all public work OF
the city under one head. a member Of
the council. with an expert adviser
or efficiency man. In the rearrange-
ment various other municipal duties
would be coordiuated also, giving
each alderman duties closer related
to one another than at present.
As told in the Herald yesterday, che
ordinance would reG-range the ad-
mlnistratlve affairs OF the city so that
the council would be organized into
public works committee. a public
! welfare committee. public safety
I committee, and q finance committee,
an alderman to be assigned as chair
l man OF each committee. with the
mayor acting as chief executive over
all committees.
Provisions OF the ordinance follow.
/ Public Works Committee.
The Public Works committee shall
l be consolidated in one department. 10
Z be called the Public Works depart
mennt: combining all the public works.
/ activities and functions, which are
! now being performed under the fol-
{ lowing separate heads The city en-
, giaeer, the street commissioner. the
3 sewer commissioner, the sanitary
! commissioner. the superintendent OF
] waterworks. the chief inspector of the
] public buildings department, the fore
] man of the blacksmith shop. the fore
/ man Of the corral the sidewalk in
I spector-
For the purpose OF assisting the
I chairman OF Public Works committee
I in the management and supervision
/ Of the Public Works department there
I is hereby created the office OF super
Z intendent Of public works, said SUI
9erlntendent to be elected by the I
mayor and council solely on the basis (
Of his executive and administrative l
I qualifications.
The choice Of said superintendent /
shall not be limited TO inhabitants Of I
the city Of FL paso or the state Of I!
I Texas said superintendent shall be I
directly responsible 10 the Public |
Works committee shall be the active /
head OF the Public Works depart ]
uent. and shall be held responsible ]
by the Public Works committee for I
its efficient conduct and MANAGEMENT /
To Remove Work From Politics.
said superintendent, subject TO the
control Of the mayor and council. /
shall appoint and discharge all en-
ployes in the public works depart
ment-
Under tie superintendent Of pub
ne works, the department OF pub
following divisions:
The division OF engineering.
The division OF sanitation.
The division Of construction and re-
pairs.
The division Of clerical service.
The division OF water supplies
The division Of shops and corral
The division Of engineering shall
have as its head the city engineer.
who, under the immediate direction
Of the superintendent Of public works
shall have charge Of the work as is
prescribed in the charter: and in ad-
dItiou, shall have general supervision
OF all building inspections. compre-
hending the work being done by the
building inspector. plumbing inspec-
tor meter inspector and electrical in
spector. as specified in the charter.
COordinating the Work
The division Of sanitation shall
comprehend all street cleaning,
sprinkling and catch basin work. and
the collection and disposal Of all
ashes garbage and rubbish A fore
man shall be designated as head Of
this division and shall report directly
to the superintendent OF public
works
The division Of construction and re-
pairs shall have charge OF all high
maintenance and repair work and all
other construction maintenance and
repair work which is performed by
city labor.
a
chief as head OF this division.
The division Of clerical service shall
perform all clerical work. the Keep
ing OF all records. the collection Of all /
.eater rents. the reading Of all meters.
and the issuing and collecting of all
permits. for the department Of pub
lie works
The superintendent OF public works
SHAH look 20 chief as head OF thu
An water records shall be kept sep
arately.
Laying Out the Work.
The division Of water supplies shall
be charged with the responsibility OF
the care and operation Of the pump
ing station or stations
The superintendent OF public works
shall look 10 a chief engineer as head
OF this division.
The division OF shops and corral
shall have charge OF the care and
operation OF a blacksmith shop and
the care and operation Of the corral
The superintendent shall look TO the
foreman OF the blacksmith shop as
also the foreman Of the corral.
Public Welfare Work.
Under the public welfare commit
tee shall come all functions now be-
ing performed in the health depart
ments in the parks department and
in the department Of public weights
and measures
The public welfare committee shall
look TO the health officer as the ad-
head Of the health de-
partment; TO the superintendent Of
parks as the foreman in charge Of the
are and maintenance OF the parks
and 10 the inspector Of public weights
ana measures. as the person resDon-
'ible FOR making weights. measures
and inspections.
Public Safety Work.
me public safety committee shall
have charge OF the work now being
PERFORM ed in the police department. In
he fire department, traffic control !
and Of work being done in fhe de-
1artment known as the 'jitne depart .
The finance committee shall have
'harge OF the functions Of work now
being performed by the purchasing =
gent the timekeeper. the city CASH
er, the city accountant. the city audi -
or the storekeeper. the city treas C
lrer- the city assessor. the license | OF
work under the city clerk, and the a
ltne license work under the jitne N
Jerk hi
The above work shall be divided Il
ntO the following divisions: h
Division Of treasury Il
Division Of assessment and collec- / n
ion
Division Of supplies. Ct
Division OF audits and accounts ] 81
Handling City's Finances. S;
In the division Of treasury shall be / M
performed all the duties OF the city I
reasurer, as provided by the city q,
harter, and in addition the city treas .
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