Originally established as the Board of Public Works, a three man Commission ran the
Department until 1910 when the Board was changed to the Department of Public Works
(DPW) and a single Commissioner serving a three-year term became the standard. The
Commissioner is responsible for developing and maintaining streets, alleys, bridges,
docks, water works, sewerage system, and public buildings and grounds. An exception
is property of the public schools.
The DPW was initially divided into the following sub-departments: Deputy
Commissioner; City Engineer; Chief Engineer of Power Plants; and Five
Superintendents (Street Construction, Street Sanitation, Water Works, Bridges and
Public Buildings, and Sewerage). While these sub-departments and bureaus have
changes over time, the DPW is currently comprised of four divisions: Administrative
Services, Infrastructure Services, Operations, and Water Works.
