The Atlanta Department of Watershed Management could fire several employees as soon as this week, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.
The department is currently vetting a list of employees — at one point as many as 19 workers — who could be terminated following the results of an internal investigation into theft and mismanagement, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Not all of the employees are linked to reports of theft within the agency, however, but could be terminated for other reasons, the person said.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed spokeswoman Melissa Mullinax would not confirm whether such a list exists or whether Watershed is poised to fire employees this week.
Watershed terminated longtime employee Ben Kuku late last week, city leaders and Kuku confirmed Monday.
Kuku most recently served as head of Watershed’s Office of Customer and Business Services. Reed officials would not say whether Kuku’s termination was related to the investigation.
Watershed has come under fire after city leaders discovered hundreds of thousands in missing or stolen equipment in recent years. The 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 legal department, the Atlanta Police Department and the city auditor are each conducting investigations of the department.
The law department hasn’t released the results of its recently completed investigation. 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.
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