Payroll Staffer On Leave After Fund Misuse Is Reported

A reported "misuse of funds" in the payroll unit of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority is under investigation, and an employee has been placed on leave, the agency said last night.

Michele Quander-Collins, a WASA spokeswoman, declined to provide details about the reported wrongdoing or to identify the payroll employee who is on paid administrative absence pending the outcome of the investigation.

Quander-Collins said the matter had been referred to the District's Office of the Inspector General. A spokesman for that office declined to comment. WASA is also conducting an investigation and has obtained the services of an independent accounting firm to help examine payroll and accounting records, Quander-Collins said.

The authority has about 1,200 employees and a payroll estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. It provides water and sewage services to homes and businesses in the District and sewage treatment for some residents in the suburbs. Funding for operations comes from user fees.

Quander-Collins said the report of suspected fund misuse came to the authority's attention this week. She declined to say where the report came from.

D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) expressed a determination last night to find out the extent of the reported misuse of money.

"They won't even answer the question I want to know the most: How much?"

"We'll give them until Monday to give the details; otherwise, we're going to have to call them in," said Graham, who heads the council committee that oversees WASA.