Publicly, proudly working for you

Director Michael Marcotte

Public Works and Engineering employees are among the hardest working, yet least appreciated of all public servants. Having worked for a number of city governments, I can tell you this seems to be the norm over most of the country. These employees work every day to make certain that you and I have as much clean and safe-to-drink water as we want. They make certain wastewater is collected, treated and disposed of according to the rules and regulations set by the state and federal governments. These dedicated employees maintain the streets, the traffic signal lights and the storm-water drainage system. Our engineers design and manage projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

All that work and much more is done to make certain that residents can go about their lives with little interruption.

Recently, we have been afforded the opportunity by the Municipal Channel to tell our story. I hope some of you watched the first production of “Public Works and Engineering,” in which we gave an overview of what each of our six divisions does.

Additional segments with Deputy Director Susan Bandy of resource management and Deputy Director Eric Dargan of right-of-way and fleet maintenance have aired or are airing. More segments will follow, including one with Deputy Director Jeff Taylor of public utilities. Jeff will be talking about water production, wastewater management and utility line repairs.

We appreciate the opportunity to let viewers know what we in Public Works and Engineering do for the 2 million citizens of Houston, and I hope you tune in.

I am very proud of our employees not just because they provide some of the essential services, but because they have the biggest hearts in the city. Soon, the Combined Municipal Campaign begins, and I am confident that PWE employees will once again step up to the plate and go to bat for those less fortunate. Proud? Who wouldn’t be?