The Division is responsible for the construction, maintenance, and control of County public works, buildings, publicly owned water and sewerage facilities, and capital projects.
The Division oversees Engineering and Land Use Review, and Permits and Land Review.
ENGINEERING & LAND USE PLAN REVIEW
PERMITS & LAND REVIEW
COMMUNICATIONS MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
LAND DEVELOPMENT ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
PARKS, RECREATION & FACILITIES DEPARTMENT
TRANSIT DEPARTMENT
For the elderly and persons with disabilities, County Commuter buses provide transportation through a contracted Ride-Assist Voucher Program, funded by the Statewide Special Transportation Assistance Program. For individuals with disabilities who can not access fixed-route service, the Department provides ADA Complementary Paratransit Service, along with Job Access in cooperation with the County Department of Social Services.
PLAN REVIEW & PERMITTING
Building codes are reviewed and enforced by the Division of Plan Review and Permitting, which also issues construction permits within the County. For construction permits on properties zoned as historic district, or rural village, applications are reviewed by the Historic District commission prior to approval (County Code, secs. 1-501, 1-502).
Engineering and Land Use Plan Review oversees the County building inspectors and advises the Division on matters related to forest conservation, public land development, road design, and stormwater and floodplain management.
Permits and Land Review receives and processes permit requests for the Division of Plan Review and Permitting. It also issues trade permits for contractors operating in the County, including electricians, mechanics, and plumbers. Permits and Land Review enforces local and State building codes, and ordinances related to residential junk, weeds, and zoning. It also oversees the Board of Zoning Appeals.
DIVISION OF PUBLIC WORKS
The Division of Public Works oversees five departments: Communications Maintenance; Highway; Land Development Engineering; Parks, Recreation and Facilities; and Transit (County Code, sec. 1-601).
The Communications Maintenance Department designs, procures, installs, and maintains all County wireless communications systems (except cellular). This includes equipment owned by the County, the County's municipalities, the Board of Education, and some State-owned equipment.
The Highway Department is responsible for County roads, highways, bridges and streets, lanes, alleys, footways, and culverts. Along County roads, the Department performs snow and ice removal operations; installs and repairs traffic control signs, street name signs and signals; picks up litter and debris; and cuts the grass. In addition, the Department provides lighting for roads, highways, alleys, and other public places; cleans and repairs County-owned ditches and storm drains; and trims all trees and removes dead trees on County-owned property.
The Land Development Engineering Department reviews and approves the designs and performs limited construction inspections of private developments. This is done by review of subdivision plats and site plans submitted to the County through the Department of Planning and Community Development. Within the County right-of-way typically associated with those developments, the Department inspects driveways and utilities. The Department also oversees storm drainage, erosion, and sediment control facilities and projects, and the County Stormwater Management Program. It reviews, approves, and inspects all stormwater management ponds constructed (County Code, sec. 1-701).
Within the Division of Public Works is the Parks, Recreation and Facilities Department. The Department maintains buildings, grounds, and parks owned by the County; handles reservations for park pavilions; operates the Martin L. Snook swimming pool in Hagerstown; and provides maintenance for county agencies (Code Local Government Article, secs. 1-601 through 1-611).
RECREATION & PARKS BOARD
The Recreation and Parks Board consists of seven members appointed to three-year terms by the Board of County Commissioners, one of whom represents the Board of County Commissioners (Code Local Government Article, sec. 1-606; County Code, sec. 1-602).
Under the Division of Public Works, the Transit Department operates all public transportation in Washington County (County Code, sec. 1-603). The County Commuter public transit system is a bus line. It runs eight, fixed urban bus routes that originate in Hagerstown and serve Funkstown, Halfway, Long Meadow, Maugansville, Robinwood, Smithsburg, and Williamsport.
Maryland Constitutional Offices & Agencies
Maryland Departments
Maryland Independent Agencies
Maryland Executive Commissions, Committees, Task Forces, & Advisory Boards
Maryland Universities & Colleges
Maryland Counties
Maryland Municipalities
Maryland at a Glance
Maryland Manual On-Line
Search the Manual
e-mail: mdmanual@mdarchives.state.md.us