DPW director resigns following criticism from city leaders

BALTIMORE — Director Jason Mitchell submitted his resignation from the Department of Public Works Monday afternoon, the Department of Public Works said.

Mitchell will continue his service at DPW until April 28, 2023.

"I am so proud of the work Baltimore DPW has been able to accomplish during my tenure since July 2021," Mitchell said. "Given family and health-related concerns, I have made this difficult decision to resign."

Mitchell's resignation comes shortly after council members called on him to resign if he could not formulate a plan to resume recycling pickup in a letter Monday morning. 

Mayor Brandon Scott accepted Mitchell's resignation and thanked the director for his contributions to the agency.  

"I want to thank Jason for his service to the city of Baltimore and wish him and his family the best in the future.," Scott said.  

Council members expressed mixed emotions about Mitchell's planned departure. 

Councilman Zeke Cohen and Councilman Yitzy Schleifer used their social media accounts to pressure Mitchell to "resume weekly recycling within the next eight weeks or resign."

The two councilmen wrote a letter to Mitchell on behalf of "deeply frustrated residents."

 The two lawmakers accused Mitchell of missing a deadline to produce a plan, with a clear deadline, to restart the "essential" service.

"Today, we will offer our own timeline: If you cannot begin to resume full weekly recycling pickup within the next eight weeks, we will call for your resignation as DPW administrator," the letter stated. "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."

Mitchell has been under criticism following the E. Coli contamination in West Baltimore and ongoing water billing issues earlier this year.

Cohen said that it was important to him that the city's agencies be held to a high standard and that people in leadership positions are executing at a high level.

But Councilman Antonio Glover said he would prefer it if Mitchell stayed on as DPW director.

"We want you to stay," Glover said, directing a message to Mitchell in front of the press. "We understand that you were put into a situation where there was a pandemic and none of this was going to happen overnight."  

Glover worked for DPW for 16 years. He said the department is short-staffed and the workers are underpaid. The solution to the department's problems, though, is consistent leadership and more time.

"Give him an opportunity to turn this around because if we bring in somebody next week, a month later, two months later, we're still gonna have these issues that we're having right now," Glover said.