Sonoma County ‘Department of Public Infrastructure’ made official in merger of Transportation and Public Works and General Services

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today officially approved a new department name, Public Infrastructure, to reflect the consolidation of the county General Services and Transportation and Public Works departments. The name of the newly formed Department of Public Infrastructure or Pi, which will comprise the various divisions and operational areas of the former departments, was chosen based on input from county employees.

In addition to approving the new department name, the board also received an update on steps the department is taking to identify organizational efficiencies gained from consolidation, including a review of the interim organizational structure. The director of the newly created Department of Public Infrastructure will be Johannes J. Hoevertsz who served previously as director of the Sonoma County Department of Transportation and Public Works.

“The consolidation of two large county departments is a deliberative process and the organizational structure put forward meets our operational needs at this stage,” said James Gore, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “This is a strategic move intended to benefit from efficiencies and lead to improvements in service quality. I’m confident the Public Infrastructure Department will succeed in a full, formal consolidation, including budget arrangements, human resources, job classifications, and all aspects consistent with the Sonoma County Code.”

With today’s approval by the board, all administrative functions will be moved under a new Administrative Services section, including Human Resources, Fiscal and Accounting, Payroll, Information Technology, Purchasing, Customer Service, and Grants. Parking Enforcement and county campus Security, and Veteran’s Building facilities will be moved under Facilities Operations. A unified department website is in development and will reflect all changes related to the consolidation.

The department’s new organizational structure also resolves duplicative administrative functions and the reporting responsibilities of these areas. In addition, in consultation with county Human Resources, the department participated in a meet and confer process with union representatives to discuss impacts to staff.

Materials related to today’s board update, including an organizational chart, is available here:
https://sonoma-county.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5957111&GUID=7FEE7216-CDE0-4EDF-A605-52D02AF5BE90   

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Media Contact:
Dan Virkstis, Communication Specialist 
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org 
575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 565-3040