DeKalb Advisory Roundtable Recap
September 7, 2023
Speaker: Ishri Sankar, Director of Public Works, City of Tucker
On Thursday, September 7th, 2023, Ishri Sankar highlighted his new, modern initiatives as the City of Tucker’s new Director of Public Works. The Council thanks Ishri for sharing his time and knowledge with the group.
Ishri says he walked into his first day on the job faced with over 650 open projects. Most were potholes, asphalt repair, and stormwater drainage. Others included vegetation, signs, signals, and sidewalks. Two months later, Tucker’s Public Works team has already closed 220 work orders. He wants to grow the department with engineers and the capital required to be proactive, not reactive, to challenges in public infrastructure.
His team is focused on technology, prioritization, and communication. They have updated their right-of-way permitting process, which monitors the location/status of repair crews and holds Utility companies accountable for their right-of-way disturbances. Their new asset management software, CityWorks, provides a dynamic way to manage service requests and work orders and allows them to prioritize solutions for roads and drainage, utilities, traffic management, etc. They have also launched a 24/7 Customer Service System to enhance responsiveness.
Within the first year, Ishri aims to reduce the existing backlog of public works projects and, within year two, he will focus on reducing service delivery times by 50% or more.
If you would like to reach Ishri, see below for contact information.
Ishri Sankar, Public Works Director
Email: isankar@tuckerga.gov