There are two groups in Public Works – General Management and Administration. One group, made up of the Public Works Director and the Administrative Secretary, is responsible for general management and administration of the Department’s seven operating budget divisions, six capital funds, and approximately 105 employees. This encompasses management of most of the City’s infrastructure.

The other portion of this Division is made up of the Municipal Services Manager and an Administrative Secretary. This group is responsible for the management of the Municipal Services Division of Public Works. There are four sections in the Municipal Services Division: Streets and Sewer Maintenance, Urban Forestry, Fleet Maintenance and Traffic & Parking. Another responsibility of this group is to manage the Municipal Services Center located on North Jasper Street.

Engineering Division

The Engineering Division is responsible for the City’s engineering functions involving streets, sidewalks, storm water, water, sanitary sewer and special assigned projects. Services associated with these functions include management of design and construction projects, surveying, design, inspection, permitting, interagency and private project coordination, development review, technical support and responding to citizen complaints. The Division maintains inventories, files, records and maps relating to the City’s infrastructure for streets, drainage, water and sewer systems used in informing citizens, private consultants and other agencies about the existence, availability, condition and / or location of City services.

Municipal Services Division

Streets and Sewers

The Streets and Sewers Section is responsible for the maintenance of the City’s 740 lane miles of streets and 360 miles of sewers. Other functions include street cleaning, grading alleys, sidewalk removal and replacement, utility cut repairs, sewer cleaning, ditching and culvert installation, sewer repairs, and snow and ice control. This Section responds to over 2,500 citizen requests annually. In summary, this Section is responsible for the maintenance of the streets, alleyways, rights of way, drainage and sewer infrastructure.

Urban Forestry

The Urban Forestry Section is responsible for conducting tree hazard abatement and improvement in general of the urban forest on City property. It is also responsible for building and grounds maintenance at the Municipal Services Center, Central Park, and other City owned properties and right-of-ways which includes mowing of over 400 acres, as well as participating in snow and ice control operations.

Fleet Maintenance

The Fleet Maintenance Section is responsible for maintaining vehicles and equipment for all Departments of the City with the assistance of modern Fleet Maintenance software. This Section maintains a fleet of approximately 310 vehicles and other pieces of equipment. Bid specifications are written for new equipment and purchases are made for such commodities as fuel, oil, parts, tires, shop supplies, etc. This Section is responsible for monitoring the Equipment Replacement Fund (ERF) and the performance of contractual and warranty services. Fleet Maintenance is also responsible for managing and maintaining a parts inventory as well as the City’s automated fuel and inventory tank gauging systems. This Section also prepares equipment and necessary forms for removal/sale of surplus equipment. Fleet Maintenance maintains active files for all Fleet equipment and ensures that all equipment is registered with the appropriate state authorities and guarantees that any equipment which requires a state inspection meets or exceeds the standard(s) for safe operation.

Traffic & Parking

The Traffic & Parking Division’s primary function is to see that the traffic control elements required to maintain orderly, efficient, and safe traffic flow through the City are properly designed, installed and maintained. This includes all traffic signals, traffic control signs, street name signs and pavement markings. This Division also maintains the downtown street lights, subway and structure lighting throughout the City, some residential area lighting systems, and the emergency warning siren system. The Traffic & Parking Division provides oversight to Illinois Power’s street lighting programs and the Motor Vehicle Parking System.

Under the direction of the Traffic & Parking, the Motor Vehicle Parking System services and maintains all on-street parking, surface parking lots, and parking garages owned and administered by the City of Decatur. Included in these responsibilities are the maintenance of parking meters and ticket dispensers and the collection of revenues.

2023-27 Proposed Street Work

The City of Decatur released the proposed road projects for this construction season.  The City has also tentatively identified streets, bridges, and other roadwork to be done in future years through 2027.  These streets are in addition to the annual pot hole patching and regular street maintenance activities done by City staff.   To see where the City is investing your fuel tax revenue in our community.  opens in a new windowClick here for a map of the Proposed Workopens PDF file

In addition to projects the City is working on, the Illinois Department of Transportation is working on roads in Decatur that are state owned and maintained.  opens in a new windowClick here for the latest list of projectsopens IMAGE file

Contacts

Public Works Administration

Matt Newell, Director of Public Works
mnewell@decaturil.govcreate new email
(217)424-2747

Tara Bachstein, Administrative Assistant
tbachstein@decaturil.gov
(217)424-2747

Engineering

Paul Caswell, City Engineer
pcaswell@decaturil.gov
(217)424-2747

Robert Weil, Assistant City Engineer
rweil@decaturil.gov
(217)424-2747

Kahlil Graves-Thomas, Civil Engineer
kgraves-thomas@decaturil.gov
(217)424-2747

Don Cisco, Engineering Project Manager
dcisco@decaturil.gov
(217)424-2747

Municipal Services

Byron Bowman, Municipal Services Manager
bbowman@decaturil.gov
(217) 875-4820

Paul Bruens, Administrative Assistant
pbruens@decaturil.gov
(217)875-4820

Rick Baker, Municipal Services Operations Supervisor
rbaker@decaturil.gov
(217)875-4820

Rob Wagers, Municipal Services Operations Supervisor
rwagers@decaturil.gov
(217)875-4820

R. Chris Bergschneider, Fleet Supervisor
rbergschneider@decaturil.gov
(217)875-5718

Water Production

Keith Alexander, Water Production Manager
kalexander@decaturil.gov
(217)424-2863

Concetta Guyse, Administrative Secretary
cguyse@decaturil.gov
(217)424-2873

Chaundra Smith, Water Production Operations Supervisor
csmith@decaturil.gov
(217)424-2833

Lake Services

Jennifer Gunter, Watershed & Lake Manager
jgunter@decaturil.gov
(217)424-2837

Chris Pumphrey, Lake Supervisor
cpumphrey@decaturil.gov
(217)424-2837

Shane Ravellete, Watershed Specialist
sravellette@decaturil.gov
(217)424-2837

Water Services

Randy Miller, Water Services Manager
rmiller@decaturil.gov
(217)875-5705

Julie Chapman, Administrative Assistant
jchapman@decaturil.gov
(217)875-5705

Jason Lawson, Water Distribution Supervisor
jlawson@decaturil.gov
(217)875-5705

Elizabeth Nicholson, Water Metering Supervisor
enicholson@decaturil.gov
(217)875-5705