Khalil Zaied, longtime veteran of Baltimore government, tapped to lead DPW

Khalil Zaied, a longtime veteran of the Baltimore City government, is set to take over the lead role at the city's Department of Public Works.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has tapped Zaied to serve as the new director.

Zaied previously spent nearly 20 years with the Baltimore City government, serving as Deputy Mayor of Operations and Director of Transportation, among other roles.

Zaied will begin serving as Acting Director of DPW beginning on Monday until he is fully confirmed by the city council.

"As Baltimore's Department of Public Works enters a new era after bringing back weekly recycling and making significant progress in numerous other areas, now is a perfect time to welcome a tested and transformational leader like Khalil Zaied to take the department to new heights," said Mayor Brandon Scott. "Ensuring DPW was strengthened with the staffing and resources it needs to continue providing Baltimoreans with the essential services they deserve has remained a top priority of my Administration. With more than 25 years of engineering and public works experience in both the private sector and municipal government, including right here in Baltimore City, Mr. Zaied is absolutely the right public works leader for this time in our city's history. I am excited to welcome him back to Baltimore, and look forward to the difference he'll make in our residents' lives."

This comes after the resignation of the previous DPW Director Jason Mitchell last year.

Mitchell was under criticism following his handling of an e.coli outbreak in West Baltimore, water billing issues and a plan for recycling pickup.

He cited family and health-related concerns as the reasons for his departure.

Weekly recycling returned to Baltimore City last week.