40 city water workers
in alleged meter fraud

The employees are suspected
of fixing their water meters
to reduce their bills

---

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.com

The Honolulu Board of Water Supply is investigating about 40 employees who may have rigged their home meters to cut their water bills.

Water Manager Cliff Jamile said yesterday that irregularities were discovered about three weeks ago during a test of the agency's new automatic meter-reading program.

"We were testing the system to see what the data showed," Jamile said. That random test revealed some board employees with water bills showing "questionable or erratic consumption patterns."

The findings spurred Jamile and his senior managerial staff to conduct further testing of all the board's 700-plus employees.

The accounts of about 40 employees under question had some bimonthly billings based on 6,000 to 8,000 gallons of water use, Jamile said. That would amount in bills ranging from $14.32 to $17.86, using the board's billing formula.

Jamile said the typical Oahu family uses between 12,000 and 20,000 gallons a pay period, which computes to between $24.94 and $39.10.

The meters in question have not been inspected, nor have the employees under suspicion been questioned, he said.

"What we're doing is contemplating hiring a third party to do some follow-up investigations," Jamile said.

Neither police, prosecutors nor Mayor Jeremy Harris have been told, nor had the agency's board as of yesterday afternoon, he said.

He said he expects the independent investigation team to be in place quickly.

"This is what I deemed to be a reasonable course of action," he said.

On Oct. 12, Jamile mailed a letter to the board's employees notifying them that "some of our employees may be tampering with their personal residential water meters to alter readings and reduce their bills."

Jamile said in the letter that he felt "a deep sense of disappointment and betrayal that some of our employees could be taking advantage of the board, the city Department of Wastewater (Environmental Services) and ultimately our customers to profit individually."

Further, he wrote, "we are investigating this matter and will follow up with appropriate steps."

Jamile said yesterday he has no proof that there was any impropriety and that there could be good reasons why those meters are lower.

"Thirty of them might have perfectly good reasons why there is such a pattern ... something to explain why they're down that low," he said. "Others may be because they've been tampered with."

Jamile said his letter was intended to get anyone abusing the system to stop.

He said he believes it would be difficult to criminally prosecute someone tampering with a water meter.

"There has to be some kind of witness, proof beyond a reasonable doubt," he said. "I don't know if that would stand up, not with the evidence we might be generating."

Tampering with a water meter is "a very simple process ... if you know what you're doing," Jamile said.

The board is semiautonomous from the rest of the city government.

Board members make decisions on budgeting and other water issues. They are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council.

The water manager is chosen by the board.

Any possible tampering of water meters would likely also affect sewer fees, which are based on the amount of water used.

Homeowners pay a base sewer rate for the first 2,000 gallons used and a variable rate for each additional 1,000 gallons used.

City spokeswoman Carol Costa said Managing Director Ben Lee would meet today with Jamile to discuss the situation.