City considers restructure of engineering department

The city of Madison is looking at possibly restructuring its engineering department.  City Administrator Jameson Berreth told Madison City Commissioners during their meeting Monday that the city has received only a few applications for its City Engineer position that has been open since May.  He said that so far they haven’t been able to secure the right candidate for the position and provided commissioners with a couple of options to discuss.  Berreth said that one option would be to stay the course and continue to advertise for the position, while the second option would involve restructuring and re-naming the department without a City Engineer on staff.  

Berreth said that the city will soon be advertising for a Building Official and Code Enforcement Officer, which would be included within this department along with the Director and the current Engineering Technicians.  He said that the department could possibly also need some support staff or a project engineer that doesn’t include management.  Berreth said that re-structuring could open up the applicant pool.  He said there would be another option to consider also if the city doesn’t hire a city or project engineer.

Berreth said that Madison is not the only city or other entity having trouble hiring an engineer at this time.  

Commissioner Jeremiah Corbin said he liked the idea of re-structuring the engineering department.  

Berreth said that he didn’t expect commissioners to make a decision Monday night, but wanted them to be aware of the situation and their options.