O'Fallon seeks new street superintendent position to centralize pavement work; staff say reorganization is cost-neutral

Public Works staff proposed a reorganization on Oct. 23 to centralize responsibility for pavement maintenance and annual street projects by creating a street superintendent position and reallocating staffing.

The presentation explained that the proposed street superintendent would serve as a single point of responsibility for pavement maintenance, overseeing in-house crews, supervisors and inspectors. "We currently do not have a street superintendent," a Public Works staff member said, describing that the assistant director oversees a large span of operations and that adding the superintendent would split responsibilities and improve coordination.

Under the proposal, one of two project manager positions would be elevated to street superintendent (approximately a two-percent grade increase pending HR review), one project manager slot would be reduced because inspection hours drive labor needs, and two inspectors would be added to handle inspection workloads. Staff said the net personnel cost would be a slight decrease rather than an increase to the budget.

Why it matters: staff argued the reorganization would reduce confusion between engineering and public works on pavement maintenance tasks, create a single customer-service contact for street issues and make better use of street supervisors’ knowledge.

Council members asked questions about organizational reporting and cost impact. Staff said the street superintendent would report to the director of public works and oversee current supervisors and the inspector positions, and that the proposed grade changes were structured to yield no net cost increase.

Next steps: staff will pursue HR review for grades and, if approved, implement the reorganization as part of staffing for 2026.