Mayor Brandon Scott rushed back to City Hall Wednesday after spending the day participating in jury duty to swear-in Khalil Zaied. As the head of the Department of Public Works, Zaied will lead an agency that has been marred by several scandals.

In August, Ronald Silver, a trash collector died on-the-job after suffering heat stroke. Reports from the city’s Inspector General have revealed a toxic work culture with employees at sanitation yards lacking basic necessities like water, air conditioning, and even toilet paper.Prior to that, there were outbreaks of E. coli (Escherichia coli) and cryptosporidium in the water, along with lawsuits over the waste management plan. Despite all these challenges, Zaied said he is ready to clean up the city’s largest agency.

“As I take the role of the director, I want to share some of my immediate priorities,” said Zaied. “Importantly, I'm focused in improving DPW internal culture. Our frontline workers in particular, are the backbone of this agency. They are out in the field, keeping our city running smoothly.” He also pledged to improve service delivery for residents, oversee facility upgrades and address wastewater infrastructure.

Zaied began serving as interim director in March. He returned to Baltimore after leading DPW in Champaign, Illinois. Before that, he worked for the city government in various roles including as Deputy Mayor of Operations and Director of Transportation. In this position, he will be among the city’s top earners with a $245,000 annual salary.

At the swearing-in ceremony, Mayor Scott expressed confidence that Zaied can help transform the beleaguered agency into what he called “a world-class service,” one that other cities could model.

Thursday, the mayor’s office announced that Scott has been seated on a jury for a trial in Baltimore Circuit Court.

“Jury service is one of our most important civic duties, which ensures our judicial system functions properly,” he said in a statement. “While being selected was somewhat a surprise, I will fulfill my responsibilities as an alternate juror proudly and fairly.”