With the establishment of the Public Works Department in 1850, the various mechanics and tradesmen in Salt Lake Valley we "classified" according to skills and preparations were made for each to render tithing labor in the field of his specialization. Full-time foremen were appointed to supervise the work of carpenters, joiners, masons, and the "tithing hands." Carpenters and joiners were initially paid or credited with $2.00 per day, masons drew $2.50 per day, and blacksmiths were hired at salaries ranging from $2.50 to $2.00.

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The establishment of the so-called "Temple Block Public Works" in 1850 represented the first employment of a group of skilled mechanics in the construction of permanent buildings and improvements for the use and benefit of the community. It also provided the first organization prepared to provide labor for any person not otherwise engaged. For immigrants, it could provide the start in life - the buffer - which would assure food and clothing, when gainful employment might be unobtainable in the private sector of the economy. It was also a means by which the community would benefit from the skill of immigrant mechanics and artists which might otherwise have been lost or wasted for lack of such a bureau.