Baltimore’s public works department last week reported nearly 700 vacant positions across the sprawling bureaucracy overseeing trash removal and the local water system. The city’s Department of Transportation is reporting a similarly stark shortage: over 300 open jobs, including significant needs for crossing guards and commercially licensed drivers. At the same time, many people in Baltimore are living homeless or searching for work, noted Councilman Mark Conway at a Wednesday hearing, leaving “a very obvious connection that needs to be made.”
