The elected County Engineer is sworn to perform for the county all duties authorized or
declared by law to be done by a Civil Engineer and Surveyor. Although specifically
exempt from engineering duties affecting public buildings, he is the engineer for all
public improvements under the authority of the board of commissioners within and for the
county. For example, in Ohio, County Engineers are responsible for more than 27,000
bridges; 29,000 miles of highways; and manage budgets between $2,500,000 and $40,000,000
annually.
Ohio has the most
rigorous standards in the United States for qualifying its Professional County
Engineers. Ohio requires its County Engineers to be both fully licensed 'Registered
Professional Engineer' and a 'Registered Professional Surveyor' for the office of County
Engineer. To achieve both accreditations requires a minimum of a college degree in
engineering and in surveying, four years of experience in engineering, four years of
experience in surveying and 16 hours of testing for each license.
As a group, Ohio's County Engineers are recognized leaders in the
nation because of their professionalism and innovations relating to the maintenance of
highways and bridges. Ohio's requirement for professional licensing in both
Engineering and Surveying, the fact that the position is elected and the fact that the
gasoline taxes and license plate fees are dedicated to the repair and maintenance of
highways and bridges by the state's constitution, allows these elected professionals to
utilize the scarce resources in an efficient and professional manner. Ohio's current
engineers range in education up to Masters and Juris Doctor degrees, almost 20% of Ohio's
County Engineers hold advanced or additional degrees. As a group they represent over
1700 years of public works experience, this averages to 20 years per engineer. On
average they have held licenses as Professional Engineers for 25 years and have held
licenses as Professional Surveyors for 21 years. |
Hamilton
County Engineer