Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Facility Maintenance Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Facility Maintenance chief‑engineer nominee highlights hires, tech modernization and operational metrics
Summary
Jean C. Albano, nominee for chief engineer of the Department of Facility Maintenance, described recent hiring gains, efforts to digitize manual processes and priorities including stormwater enforcement and equipment procurement for stream maintenance.
Jean C. Albano, nominated to serve as chief engineer for the Department of Facility Maintenance, told the Committee on Planning, Infrastructure and Transportation on Feb. 11 that the department has undertaken major hiring to reduce vacancies and is digitizing manual processes to improve efficiency.
Albano said staff conducted an anonymous employee engagement survey and identified retention and hiring as priorities; he cited recent hires that reduced the department vacancy rate and said DFM plans additional hiring to address maintenance backlogs. He described specific operational metrics, saying the department handled "10,000 automotive work orders," performed "10 miles of resurfacing roads," reconstructed "30,000 square feet of sidewalks," disposed of hundreds of tons of accumulated trash and conducted thousands of stormwater inspections.
Albano also discussed equipment needs, including long‑reach cranes used for stream maintenance; committee members later noted an additional long‑reach crane is expected to be procured to speed work in stream mouths and culverts. He said stormwater enforcement is growing as a priority and that the department is coordinating with the state on private-owner obligations for stream maintenance.
Committee members praised DFM's responsiveness and asked about specific maintenance priorities and the potential for clearer division of responsibility among city departments for tasks such as park cleanup and stream work; Albano said the department will continue to refine staffing and interdepartmental coordination.
This was a discussion hearing on the nomination; no confirmation vote was taken at this meeting.
