Update:
Mayor Brandon Scott, on June 30, named Deputy Director Richard J. Luna as Interim Director of the Department of Public Works.
Original Story:
Jason W. Mitchell is stepping down as Baltimore's Department of Public Works Director.
His last day will be April 28.
"Given family and health related concerns, I have made this difficult decision to resign,” Mitchell said in a statement issued Monday.
His decision came hours after a pair of Baltimore City Councilmen renewed calls for weekly recycling to pick back up.
Isaac Yitzy Schleifer has been one of Mitchell's more vocal critics.
He and District 1 Councilman Zeke Cohen sent Mitchell a letter on Monday demanding that he restart the weekly recycling program within eight-weeks.
The Councilmen accused Mitchell of missing a deadline to produce a plan and timeline of when the agency would resume weekly recycling pickup.
In July Mitchell announced the department would continue bi-weekly recycling pickup indefinitely, citing ongoing staffing shortages.
Despite the issues the department insists they completed 99.99 percent of last year's routes, even with residents recycling at a 50 percent higher rate.
Schleifer has maintained the current arrangement of bi-weekly recycling is a "blatant violation of the Baltimore City Code."
RELATED: Councilman calls for fines against DPW, claims bi-weekly recycling pickup violates City Code
He and Cohen urged Mitchell to restore confidence in his agency, or else resign.
"If you cannot begin to resume full weekly recycling pickup within the next eight weeks, we will call for your resignation as DPW administrator," both Council Members wrote in their letter. "In the aftermath of the poor communication on E. coli contamination in West Baltimore, and continued frustration with inaccurate water bills, we believe now is the time for you to take action and restore confidence in your agency."
Hours after the letter was sent the department released a 28 page independent assessment which they say provides a plan forward.
The report indicates the City could reach their weekly recycling goal by 2026.
According to the assessment Baltimore’s current recycling routes are 101 percent larger than the industry standard of 1,300 stops per route, with an average stop count of 2,608 per route.
One important recommendation in the report is rightsizing collection routes that in turn would free up more crews.
The assessment breaks-down how to achieve that in two parts, long-term and short-term.
Here's what the assessment says for the short-term:
"Once DPW achieves adequate staff augmentation and/or fleet resources, we recommend adjusting bi-weekly recycling routes from an average of 2,608 stops per route down to 2,200 stops per route. This would increase the number of daily recycling routes from 20 to 24, maintaining a bi-weekly schedule."
These additional routes, plus building in the recommended 20% reserve, would mean:
- Maintaining a fleet of at least 29 load packers with <20% breakdown factor
- Increase recycle CDL drivers from 22 to 29
- Increase recycling laborers from 46 to 58
And this is how they recommend getting back to weekly collection:
"Once adequate staff and resources expand current capacity, we recommend returning to weekly city-wide recycling collection, and increasing the stop count from 1,100 to 1,300 stops per route. This would increase the number of daily recycle routes from 24 to 40."
These additional routes plus building in the recommended 20% reserve, would require DPW to:
- Maintaining a fleet of at least 48 load packers with <20% breakdown factor
- Increase recycle CDL drivers from 29 to 48
- Increase recycling laborers from 58 to 196
Both councilmen responded to the report with displeasure.
Cohen said, "We stand by our original statement," while Schleifer went a step further.
“The response they gave is garbage, they have no plan they are just kicking the can down the road,” said Schleifer .
Schleifer and Cohen recommended the problems be corrected with worker pay raises, and the hiring of additional contractors until the workforce is fully staffed, which they say could be done by increasing capacity at the Northwest Transfer Station.
Mayor Brandon Scott issued this statement in response to Mitchell's resignation.
“It is with deep regret that I accept Jason’s resignation. Under his leadership, DPW has developed and implemented innovative plans to improve the services of which the people of Baltimore rely. While we will miss his contributions to the agency, we fully support his decision to prioritize his family at this time. I want to thank Jason for his service to the city of Baltimore and wish him and his family the best in the future."
Schleifer and Cohen also responded.
"Baltimore deserves excellent city services. Residents expect to receive what they are paying for. This requires that we have the right leadership in place. We will continue to advocate for our constituents and the city employees who are on the front lines."
