Department of Public Works
Mission
The Caroline County Department of Public Works is a goal-oriented
organization for a variety of County services. These services
include Administration, Central Shop, Roads, and Special
Services. Special Services consists of Animal Control,
Mosquito Control, Noxious Weed Control, Gypsy Moth Control,
Recycling, Building Maintenance, and Solid Waste.
Source of Funds
Funding for this department comes from a variety of sources.
Fees for services help fund the Central Shop and Special
Services programs: Noxious Weed Control, Mosquito Control, and
Gypsy Moth Control. State funds also contribute to Special
Service programs to include Recycling. State revenues fund the
Roads programs. Federal funds contribute to Roads, the Central
Shop and Administration. County tax revenues fund these
Special Services programs: Animal Control, Building Maintenance
and Solid Waste.
Distribution of Funds
Road building and maintenance take up almost half of our budget
(46%) with Special Services taking 31%, Central Shop 16%, and
Administration 7%.
Department Divisions
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
The mission of the Administration Division is to provide the
citizens with quality, courteous, and cost-effective service.
This division provides administrative and clerical support to
all divisions within Public Works. It excels in prioritizing
objectives to reach quantifiable goals.
The Administration Division maintains a record of requests
and services provided by all divisions. The division
handled 1,152 service requests in 1998, and that same amount
is expected in 1999.
This division also tracks budgets for all the divisions within
Public Works, and provides support in managing federal and
state funded projects. In this role, it has been involved with the
renovations to the Caroline County Detention Center, and the
Health and Public Services building. We will also be
involved with the renovations to the courthouse and the
Emergency Management complex.
CENTRAL SHOP
The Central Shop provides the County with cost-effective
fuels, maintenance, and repairs to its vehicles and equipment.
The Central Shop is now operating a preventative maintenance
plan, and we are looking for and developing new strategies in
this field.
Central Shop maintains and keeps service records
for nine agencies and fuel records for 23 agencies. Billing
for fuel, repairs, and labor are generated from Central Shop
as well as monthly fuel reports for State required taxes.
Central Shop also schedules and keeps records on outside
repairs and warranty work. Central Shop will be updating its
record keeping with a new Fleet Management package and new
computer equipment. Central Shop responsibilities also
include capital purchases, and titling and licensing of the
purchased vehicles.
ROADS
The Roads Division must supply a quality road and bridge system
to meet the needs of the traveling public. The Division is
committed to doing this in a safe, efficient, and cost-effective
manner.
There are 494 miles of roadway in the system; 392 miles are
paved. This budget reflects a change in focus. The paved and
gravel roads will be pursued by making advancements in standard
changes. We replace bridges with the most modern design,
build roads to established standards, and install signs and
highway markings for safe passage on Caroline County roadways.
The Roads Division has developed a five year plan to focus on
its mission statement. This includes widening and surfacing
unpaved roadways, hot mix overlays of two major roadways,
Auction Road from MD 16 to MD 313, and American Corner Road,
from MD 16 to Auction Road, and the replacement of several
restricted bridges.
The Division will address high shoulders on the surfaced roadways
to allow water to flow off. Roads personnel will reclaim Mason
Branch Road, from MD 312 to Sparks Road. Forty miles of gravel
dirt road overlays and improvements are also in the five year
plan. 200 miles of paved roads will be retreated.
Several improvement projects throughout the County that involve
pipes, ditches, and guardrails will be done. Improvements made
by a safety study of the entire roads system will be performed.
We will address approximately 850 service requests a year.
Road's Board Minutes
SPECIAL SERVICES
The Special Services Division provides the public with a
variety of services: solid waste and recycling trash disposal
programs, animal control, insect control, and noxious weed
control. This division is also responsible for maintaining
the County's buildings.
The Special Services Division is funded through general funds,
fees, and State funds. Its programs include:
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The Animal Control program
will be joining with the Caroline County Humane Society
sometime this year. The facility will be located in
Ridgely.
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Building Maintenance operates with
one full time and one part time employee. This program helps
reduce building maintenance costs that otherwise would be
contracted.
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The Gypsy Moth Program, in cooperation
with the Maryland Department of Agriculture, monitors the
woodlands of Caroline County for infestations of this forest
pest. At such times that control measures are warranted, the
county has in place a program to deal with the needs and
concerns of those citizens affected.
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The Mosquito Control Program, with
technical support from Maryland Department of Agriculture,
provides our citizens a safe and economical means of controlling
mosquitoes throughout Caroline County. This program annually
through the adulticide spraying alone serves an average of 265
private residents along with five towns and five public parks.
Many acres of standing water, which is prime mosquito breeding
habitat, are treated every spring to reduce the adult mosquito
population. Annual revenue from spraying is consistently
$20,000, which helps make this a self-supported program.
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The Solid Waste Division has been upgrading equipment to
handle the increasing amount of household waste and recyclables
produced in Caroline County.
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