Director Jason W. Mitchell, Ed.D, steps down to tend to family matters

BALTIMORE, MD. (Thursday, January 5, 2023) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott accepted the resignation of Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Jason W. Mitchell, Ed.D., who is stepping down from his role to tend to family matters.

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

Mitchell's resignation is effective April 2023 in order to allow for a seamless transition. Since becoming director of DPW in July 2021, Mitchell has overseen significant improvements at DPW, including:

• Increasing the water rates for residents to 3.0% for water; 3.5% for sewer; and 3.0% for stormwater service. The requested rate adjustment represents a 67% reduction from previous water rate increases and is the lowest rate increase proposal presented to the Board of Estimates by DPW and the City's Department of Finance in over 24 years.

• Improving customer service and process improvements, by reducing call times from 20 minutes to 2 minutes, email responses from 25 days to 5 days, and the setup of payment plans from 70 days to 10 days.
• Launching of the Water4All discount program that provides more than $1 million in discounts to City of Baltimore residents; implementing Promise Pay; increasing the success rate of meter reads; spearheading $17 million in capital improvements for renovation of solid waste facilities and launching the Eradicating Blight Program.
• Launching community empowerment campaigns including the B'More LOVE Volunteer Network; Residential Advisory Council, Eco-Warriors of the Future Schools Competition; and the B'More WISE workforce training program