As far as Cities are concerned, the City of Hamilton is intentionally different. As a matter of fact, Hamilton is the only city in Ohio that owns and operates all four major utilities (i.e., electric, natural gas, water and wastewater). We’re a not-for-profit utility governed by locally elected officials, appointed boards, and our citizens. So, while many utilities are influenced by investors and old practices and whichever way the legislative wind blows, we remain stable.
Remaining stable does not mean we’re stagnant; our teams are committed to continuous improvement and finding innovate ways to better serve our community. So, in 2017, Utilities and Public Works merged together to form the Department of Infrastructure. The two departments, unified as one, are stronger together and more equipped to provide comprehensive service to our community. More often than not, utility and public works capital improvements go hand-in-hand. As one department, we’ve increased our collaboration, built stronger teams, and removed barriers to become more effective in serving the needs of our community.
While merging was one significant step to improve our performance, we wanted to go further and opened a feedback channel to the entire community through the Plan Hamilton initiative. Two common themes have been distilled from Plan Hamilton initiative. One, we need to provide better regional and local transportation networks (i.e., improve mobility). Two, provide reliable and affordable rates across all utilities. As one team, the Department of Infrastructure is committed to achieving those outcomes and much more.
