An Atlanta Department of Watershed director placed on administrative leave for unpaid state road fees was not at fault for the fines, Atlanta officials announced Friday.
Yafet Bekele, Watershed’s head of safety and security, will return to work this Monday. He was briefly placed on paid administrative leave after the State Road and Tollway Authority notified Atlanta officials that his city vehicle had racked up $5,600 in toll fees and violations.
The error occurred when an SRTA agent incorrectly entered the license plate number on Bekele’s city car into his personal Peach Pass account, officials said. SRTA spokeswoman Malika Reed Wilkins confirmed Bekele was not at fault for the fines.
The mistake was discovered after SRTA tracked the vehicle’s registration to Atlanta and notified the city of the fines. An investigation revealed SRTA’s oversight, officials said.
“Because the clerical error is through no fault of the customer, he is only required to pay tolls, not the fees,” Reed Wilkins said in an email.
City officials say SRTA will waive the fines, $4,900.00. Bekele is on the hook for the remaining $700 in tolls.
Bekele’s name has been in the news recently as one of five Watershed employees who received five-figure pay raises from Commissioner Jo Ann Macrina.
Mayor Kasim Reed reversed the raises after a media inquiry last week. Reed’s administration has said the raises were ill-timed as Watershed is under investigation for complaints of theft and mismanagement.
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