Responding to the Baltimore Department of Public Works’ decision to suspend recycling pickup for city residents until Nov. 1, City Council President and Democratic mayoral nominee Brandon Scott wrote a letter to the acting head of the agency on Monday urging him to “do more” to ensure continuity of “our basic duties as a government.”

The letter, addressed to acting director, Matthew W. Garbark, calls on the department to prioritize 311 calls for missed trash pickup; increase the number of recycling drop-off locations in each district; extend the hours of the city’s three citizen drop-off centers; and communicate better..

Garbark announced at a news conference Thursday that an ongoing employee shortage exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic forced the agency to forego recycling to focus on trash routes.

Though the department has set up 14 total recycling drop-off locations, one in each of the city’s districts, Scott said many Baltimore residents still lack access to a service.

“While COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for our city, it is unacceptable for us to be at this point and more must be done to ensure seniors, people with disabilities, and people without personal vehicles can access basic city services,” Scott said in the letter.

A COVID-19 outbreak at one facility disrupted recycling for three weeks starting in June. Many department employees subsequently refused to show up for shifts that month, leading to delays in trash pickup services.

City data shows the completion rate for 311 service calls dipped this year relative to last, dropping to a four-year low of about 68% in June. In June 2019, the department completed nearly 78% percent of its service calls on time. In July 2020, the completion rate increased to 74%.

Meanwhile, calls to the Department of Public Works peaked in July — a record high of 96,700 calls — and was preceded by 96,100 calls in June. This time last year, the department fielded 66,000 calls in June and 76,000 in July.

Representatives from the Department of Public Works did not respond Monday to a request for comment about Scott’s letter.

The City Council president, the likely next mayor given the city’s strong Democratic base, said the agency should communicate how it arrived to the decision to suspend recycling pickup, verify that workers have enough personal protective gear to do their jobs, and detail the impact of the coronavirus on city services to date.

“The hard-working women and men of DPW … have contended with coronavirus outbreaks, extreme heat, and an increased load,” Scott said in the letter.

“We must do everything we can to support our frontline workers and keep them safe.”

Pastor Shannon Wright, running as the Republican nominee in Baltimore’s mayoral race, said in a statement Monday that Scott should take responsibility for the city’s previous trash and recycling backlog.

“As a legislator, it was on his watch that Baltimore residents have suffered a trash problem that has put their health in further jeopardy,” Wright said in the statement.