Public Works was created in 1985 by the Cattaraugus County Legislature to consolidate the operations of the Highway, Refuse, and Buildings and Grounds divisions, the Fairgrounds and the Onoville Marina. The Commissioner of Public Works assumed the administrative supervision of these units of County government.

The lion's share of the financial and human resources in the Public Works Department is devoted to the maintenance of the 403 miles of road, 265 bridges, 252 culverts and 466 drainage structures under County jurisdiction. The Highway Division employs 127 full-time employees, including the Engineering Division, the Commissioner's staff and the Little Valley garage. There are a total of seven highway facilities, including the Little Valley maintenance facility completed in July 1998.

The Department has a 2008 budget of $9.5 million for road maintenance (snowplowing, paving, surface treatment, ditching and pothole patching), plus $4.1 million for equipment replacement and maintenance. Additionally, Cattaraugus County has a capital projects program in excess of $9.4 million for major road improvement projects and bridge replacements for 2008.

The Public Works Department has responsibility for the maintenance of the county-owned buildings.

Cattaraugus County has five major public buildings--the county centers in Little Valley and Olean, the Pines Healthcare and Rehabilitation centers in Machias and Olean, and the Department of Public Works facility in Little Valley. There are also several satellite offices in various locations throughout the County. Public Works has a staff of 28 full-time and 24 part-time people to clean and maintain these facilities and a proposed 2008 budget of $1.7 million, not including the nursing homes. The fairgrounds in Little Valley was formerly maintained by the Public Works Department; however, it was sold to the Cattaraugus County Agricultural Society in 1995. The Agricultural Society sponsors and runs the annual Cattaraugus County Fair.

The Public Works Department operates the Onoville Marina in the Town of South Valley. It is staffed by two full-time employees and nine seasonal workers. The Marina is a self-sufficient enterprise fund, meaning that the operating expenses are paid out of the revenues generated by the dock and campground fees and fuel sales. The total proposed 2004 Onoville Marina budget is $460,000. The county secured a $195,000 grant in 2006 to fund 50 percent of a major dock replacement project that was completed in the spring of 2007.

The second largest operation the Public Works Department oversees, and the one the public comes into contact with, is the Refuse Division. The County operates eight transfer stations: Salamanca, Dayton, Allegany, Portville, Five Points, Conewango, Machias and Onoville. Refuse employees 13 full-time and 11 full-time-equivalent, part-time individuals. In 2006, the County processed 10,608 tons of municipal solid waste. Of the 21,232 tons of recyclable materials processed throughout the county in 2006, 3,059 tons were collected through the county's transfer stations. This figure does not include yard waste materials collected at the stations to be composted. The anticipated 2008 expenditures for the Refuse Division are $1,959,305, with $1,233,000 in revenues from disposal fees and sale of reclaimed materials. General tax levy pays the $731,305 difference.

The position of Director of Weights and Measures was transferred to the Department of Public Works by legislative action in 2004 to provide the director with additional resources in terms of clerical support and physical manpower to provide a greater ability to perform the essential functions within his position. The department's 2008 Weights and Measures budget is $74,367.

Financial resources for Public Works come from a variety of sources. The largest percentage of Public Works funding is derived from the local property taxes. Other sources include one percent (1%) of the sales tax revenues, which is dedicated to maintaining the County highway system (approximately $8,169,000), and the mortgage recording tax. New this year is a $5 vehicle/$10 truck registration fee that is expected to generate approximately $500,000 to be used for heavy equipment replacement. Cattaraugus County received state aid in the amount of $2,027,097 for capital improvements under the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS). Cattaraugus County has also received financial assistance for bridge and road construction projects from New York State and the federal government under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21St Century (TEA-21), which was reauthorized in 2005 as the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Future Users (SAFETEA-LU). These projects are generally phased in over several years. In 2007, Cattaraugus County completed two federal-aid maintenance projects worth a combined construction value of $0.73 million. Cattaraugus County's local share for the construction costs was approximately $146,000. In 2008, Cattaraugus County will be involved in the administration of one federal-aid project for the Town of Carrollton. No county money will be expended on the project, as the Town of Carrollton is the owner and the county is helping the town administer the federal-aid program. In 2008, Cattaraugus County will be involved with three other off-system federal-aid projects: Hinsdale Bridge No. 73 (Sherlock Hollow over WNY&PA RR) for the Town of Hinsdale; Olean Bridge No. 29 (Hastings Road over Norfolk & Southern RR); and the St. Bonaventure Access Improvement Project for the Town of Allegany and St. Bonaventure University. Similar to the Carrollton Bridge No. 31 project, no county funds will be expended. In 2007, Cattaraugus County was awarded seven additional federal-aid projects by New York State. Five projects were programmed with both design and construction monies. One of these projects was awarded to the Town of Olean. Cattaraugus County will be involved in helping the town administer the federal program. Five of these projects are scheduled to let in 2011 and two projects are scheduled to be let in 2012, although the state has granted Cattaraugus County permission to accelerate these schedules. In total, Cattaraugus County will be involved in 15 federal-aid projects in 2008 - 9 solely owned county projects, 2 projects jointly owned with neighboring counties and 4 projects that are off system. The total construction cost for these 15 projects is estimated at $18 million with the county's local share being approximately $2.89 million. The other two projects are county-owned bridges funded through the Federal Aid Indian Reservation Roads Program. Both of these projects are anticipated to be let in 2008.