Staffing and salaries were two issues Baltimore's Department of Public Works was heavily questioned on during Wednesday's Baltimore City Council committee hearing.
The Department of Public Works remains at a 25% vacancy rate, DPW administration confirmed.
Back in January 2022, a Rubicon Technologies report on route optimization in Baltimore City called for an additional 48 CDL drivers and an additional 96 sanitation workers to be added to Baltimore City’s workforce.
CDL drivers are the workers who operate the trash and recycling trucks.
For more than a year, Baltimore City has been on a bi-weekly recycling pick-up schedule, rather than the standard weekly pick-up.
This remains a large point of contention between the City and the DPW administration and even led to some leaders calling on DPW Director Jason Mitchell to step down.
Mitchell announced his plans to resign a short-time later.
To address this worker shortage, DPW said it is currently undergoing a 'Job Classification and Compensation' study.
The Administration admits that it could take up to a year to implement the result of the study, and couldn't estimate when the study will even be completed.
More immediate action includes hosting hiring events, calling candidates, and working with the Administration to create a bonus, and hiring retention program for CDL drivers.
Just this week, Baltimore City Council passed a resolution that calls on the DPW Administration to provide pay raises for sanitation workers and CDL drivers. It would be the second time since the pandemic.
The two Councilmen who introduced the resolution including Councilman Yitzy said it was part of the larger effort to restore city services, like recycling.