Third biennial report of the Oregon State Highway Commission

by Simon Benson; R. A. Booth; Herbert Nunn; W. L. Thompson

OFFICE ORGANIZATION

The work handled in the offices of the State Highway Department is of four classes, each requiring specialized training, and, in a way, of little or no relation to each other. For this reason, the office organization consists of four different offices or departments: the General Office, the Auditing Department, the Office Engineering Department and the Bridge Department. The work of these departments is outlined in the following paragraphs.

General Office.—All business of the Highway Commission and all business of the Department with the public is transacted through the General Office. Under the direction of the Secretary of the Commission and the First Assistant Engineer, this office handles all correspondence, the issuance of bonds, the execution of contracts, the purchase of supplies and equipment, and all general office detail.

The seal of the State Highway Commission and the minutes of the Commission meetings are in the custody of the Secretary. All mail is received and distributed through the Secretary’s office, and in it filed all correspondence, legal documents, etc. This office also keeps a record of all State equipment and takes care of the charging out of rental and depreciation on same.

The purchase of office, engineering and construction supplies and equipment is handled by this department and a considerable saving is realized by buying in quantities. On all stock supplies, each job is charged with the amount furnished and similarly rental on our own engineering instruments and automobiles is charged, so that the cost of each job may be determined. On construction projects which are furnished with our own trucks, road rollers, etc., each piece of equipment is rented out to the job in the same manner. A record is kept of the rental charged on each piece of equipment so that its value can be determined at any time.

Auditing Department.—This department, working under the supervision of the Auditor, handles all claims against the Commission, verifies each one, prepares the vouchers to cover, sends them out to claimants to be certified, and mails out the warrants when received from the Secretary of State. All vouchers drawn from the counties for co-operative work or projects over which the Commission has supervision, are also audited in this department. In 1917 there were 1,782 State vouchers passed, aggregating a total of $682,321.98; in 1918, 3,371 were passed, aggregating $2,205,935.70. In 1917 there were 544 County vouchers totaling $270,162.37, and in 1918, 410 vouchers totaling $439,562.79. A total of all such vouchers for the biennium aggregating $3,597,982.84.

Employes of the Commission are paid by payroll warrants drawn in favor of the State Highway Engineer and bank checks issued against the same. The total number of paychecks issued in 1917 was 2,771, and in 1918 there was a total of 7,350.

It will be noted that in the past two years the Commission has done considerable work by day labor and the above statement includes all direct employes. It is desirable to expedite payment of labor claims, especially to men who quit on short notice. The present law requires that claims be prepared in voucher form, approved by the Commission for payment and then sent to the Secretary of State for audit. The warrant when received is deposited in a bank and a paycheck issued. It is recommended that a revolving payroll fund be created on which pay checks could be drawn and sent out immediately as requested. These could later be listed and the payroll voucher prepared in the usual manner in favor of the State Highway Engineer. The warrant when received, to be refunded to the payroll fund which would be kept intact. The State Highway Engineer should furnish a payroll bond to cover. This fund could also be used for emergency claims to take advantage of trade discounts and permit the payment of small claims which it is desired to pay promptly.

In the numerous cases in which the Commission has taken over the work to do with its own forces, the necessary bookkeeping and detail records for handling material, supplies and labor payrolls have been carried by this office. On several force account jobs each invoice and payroll of the contractor has been carefully checked and verified before being paid.

The record of both State and County funds have been audited by reputable certified public accountants and found correct.

Mr. G. Ed Ross served in the capacity of Auditor until his resignation in July, 1918, when his duties were taken over by Roy A. Klein, Assistant Engineer.

Office Engineering Department.—In the Office Engineering Department are handled the numerous office details in connection with the engineering work of the Department. The more important of these duties are the working up of maps, profiles, specifications and estimates for new projects; the checking of monthly and final estimates for payments on contract work; the filing of engineering records of all kinds; the keeping of cost distribution and the compilation of reports, statistics and other data.

During the past year this department, in addition to its other work, prepared and had published a road map of the State of Oregon. This map shows all of the main traveled roads of the State and is believed to be the most authentic as well as the most complete road map of Oregon yet published. A small reproduction of the map is contained in this report. Single copies of a larger size, 13 by 22 inches will be supplied upon application.

Bridge Department.—The Bridge Department prepares designs, plans, specifications and estimates for all bridges and similar structures. The inspection and the supervision of construction of bridges is also in charge of this department.

The laws of the State require that bridge designs be prepared for counties by the Highway Department, upon the request of County Courts. Twelve counties have taken advantage of this law during the past two years and have called upon the Department for designs for a total of thirty-four bridges and six culverts, and of these structures twenty-seven bridges and four culverts have been built.

A total of ninety-five bridges and fifteen culverts were designed by the Bridge Department, of which fifty-nine bridges and eleven culverts have been constructed.