The public wants our advisory boards and commissions reinstated. As do I.
I served on the Board of Public Works from 2009-2011 and I saw the power of this board to educate and engage both citizens and Common Council as well as provide direct oversight of the DPW. Regular meetings of the BPW ended with the pandemic shut down and the important work of meeting with DPW department heads, advocating for approved hiring, working in-depth on services and land resources, reviewing budgets and expenditures, and focusing on large-scale projects over time ceased.
The 2020 City Budget included a new 7-person crew in Streets and Facilities to focus on road reconstruction and infrastructure. This crew was never hired due to COVID and my belief is the BPW would have advocated directly to the Common Council to push for these positions to be filled when the City received recovery funding. Our DPW staff are exemplary, they work hard, and they have a big job. We need the Mayor to bring back the BPW to actively support our departments: this will make for better roads, services, and better City employee satisfaction.
The Ithaca Times ran an article, “Alderperson Brock Calls for Reinstatement of Board of Public Works” on September 27th, 2023. I was asked to respond on the state of the Board of Public Works. Read the full article here: