Have you ever been with friends who get along so well that they can finish each other’s sentences? That’s what it’s like spending time with the five division managers at the City’s Public Works Department and their boss. Maybe they understand each other so well because they often have to share resources to get important tasks done.
 Left to right: Cloninger, Forrester, Canipe, Gillis, Denton, Webber |
“These guys have helped those guys, who have helped her guys,” says Public Works Director Dale Denton. As he says those words, he nods to the manager of Building and Grounds, then of Field Operations, then of Solid Waste, all sitting around a conference table. “We’re constantly loaning each other employees. Every division. It’s a team effort. It has to be,” Denton says.
Building and Grounds Manager Stephen Webber starts with an example: “When we put new carpet at City Hall, we got help from the guys at Field Operations to move the furniture.” DeeDee Gillis, Solid Waste manager, jumps in and says, “And we provided the truck to haul away the old carpet.” Webber picks up the story, “Cindy’s group (Equipment Services) makes sure those trucks work properly. And Heather (Canipe) handles the POs and work orders.”
Robert Cloninger, head of Field Operations, gives another example of the department’s teamwork. “During leaf season, DeeDee (Solid Waste) was behind. So we took four or five guys from my division and said, ‘You’re going to be picking up leaves in December.’” But plans changed because of a December snowstorm. “So DeeDee’s guys were driving snowplows for us,” Cloninger says. “And Cindy’s guys were there at 3 in the morning putting on snow blades.”
It all works so smoothly, you might think the five divisions in Public Works have been working hand-in-work-glove for years. In reality, Public Works is one of several departments that were realigned a year ago. Each of the five divisions now in Public Works was affected in some way, from reorganization to new leadership due to retirements and promotions.
Public Works has 133 total employees and an annual budget of about $24 million. The divisions include:
- Administration, with five employees, led by Heather Canipe. Administration employees support both Public Works and Public Utilities. Based at the Municipal Operations Center (MOC) at 1300 N. Broad St.
- Building and Grounds, with 15 employees, led by Stephen Webber. It oversees maintenance of 180 City-owned structures such as buildings, picnic shelters and bus shelters, and manages custodial services for City buildings, but it does not handle landscaping. Based at the MOC.
- Equipment Services, with 21 employees, led by Cindy Forrester. City employees often call it Fleet or the Garage. It maintains all 900 City vehicles that have motors, from firetrucks and garbage trucks to asphalt rollers, lawnmowers and Gator utility vehicles. The division buys 600,000 gallons of fuel a year. Located at 800 N. Broad St.
- Field Operations, with 51 employees, led by Robert Cloninger. Streets, curbing, sidewalks, drainage, traffic signals and inclement weather response are among its responsibilities, with 350 miles of City streets, 100 miles of state roads and 156 miles of storm drainage pipes. Based at MOC.
- Solid Waste, with 44 employees, led by DeeDee Gillis. It handles garbage, recycling and yard waste collection, scoops up roadkill and even runs the City’s carwash. The division empties 24,000 residential garbage carts each week, not counting recycling or yard waste. Based at 700 N. Broad St.
Fewer than 10% of Public Works employees work at desks, meaning the rest are out and about in the City most of their work days. Many of the desk
workers spend a lot of time answering phones, with 2,500 calls a month related to solid waste, streets, storm water or building maintenance.
When residents list city services, they typically mention public safety and the types of services provided by Public Works. Gillis notes that taxpayers are usually willing to pay for both, but with differing expectations. “Every citizen hopes they will never need a firefighter or a police officer. They want the City to have them and they are willing to pay for them,” she says. On the other hand, Gillis says residents expect to need the services of public works. “They want that pothole in their street filled,” she says. “They want their trash picked up. They expect that our buildings meet ADA requirements and are safe. They expect us to be there.” Cloninger explains Public Works this way: “We take care of their first-world problems.”
Residents expect the first-world services of Public Works because they pay City taxes and fees. But meeting those expectations can create challenges, especially with scheduling. “You can make a schedule of what you’re going to do each day and, by 8:15, it’s in the trash,” Cloninger says. “Crews go out to work on a project. Then a pothole pops up. Or somebody has dumped trash. The right-of-way guys may be mowing in one part of town and have to stop to pick up trash somewhere else.” Cindy Forrester agrees, saying, “Sometimes the priorities change daily or hourly.”
Denton, their boss, acknowledges that juggling the expectations can be tough. “So many things are a priority,” he says. “It’s trying to figure out, from all of the priorities, what rises to the top today?” Denton describes the department’s workload as “overwhelming at times,” which is why employees are frequently asked to help other divisions or be able to take on a wide range of tasks.
That job-shifting flexibility is actually a silver lining on the dark cloud of too much work in Public Works. Everyone in the group says the lack of a mundane work routine is the best part of their jobs. “We do something different every day,” Webber says. Gillis adds, “Everybody has a different problem every day. Even if it’s the same problem, you handle it differently.”
Public Works isn’t the most glamorous line of work, with most employees out in every type of weather and getting their hands dirty. When asked about that, the division managers start tag-team speaking again. “Everything from digging ditches for sewer lines to picking up dirty diapers,” says Gillis. “A 100-degree day and you’re laying asphalt,” says Cloninger. “It takes a certain type of person to do that,” adds Webber.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, nationwide, garbage collectors are fatally injured on the job at three times the rate of police officers and four times more often than firefighters. And back at the MOC conference room, the group notes that pay classifications for Public Works employees tend to be on the lower end of most cities’ pay scales.
Despite the challenges, Denton says he’s proud of the entire Public Works Department for what he calls his employees’ “gift of service.” He explains, “This group is willing to do whatever it takes. Even though it might be a heavy load, they are willing to do whatever it takes to get it done. There is little to no complaining. Everyone in this department really cares about providing an outstanding level of service to the citizens.”
