The Atlanta Department of Watershed Management has fired one of its top employees, just months after he was temporarily awarded a $15,000 raise.
Officials with Mayor Kasim Reed’s administration aren’t saying why they terminated Ben Kuku, a longtime employee who most recently served as head of Watershed’s Office of Customer and Business Services.
Kuku confirmed Monday that he was let go from Watershed last week, but declined further comment. Kuku was hired by the city nearly 30 years ago and has worked for the department since 1999, said Reed spokeswoman Melissa Mullinax.
Watershed has come under scrutiny in the past several months, with the city’s legal department, the Atlanta Police Department and the city auditor conducting investigations into allegations of theft and mismanagement.
City officials have discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in missing or stolen equipment in recent years. Missing or stolen items include 28 industrial water meters weighing 700 pounds and worth $5,210 apiece, copper, pipes and more, according to police reports. City officials also have yet to find a missing backhoe worth $80,000.
The city’s law department hasn’t released the results of its investigation into Watershed. City auditor Leslie Ward said she expects to wrap up her report by end of the month. It’s unclear when APD will complete its investigation.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Watershed Commissioner Jo Ann Macrina gave several top employees five-figure raises earlier this year. She hiked Kuku’s pay 13 percent to $125,000. Reed later ordered the raises to be reversed.
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