Treatment Required

Who’s minding the store at the Edgartown wastewater treatment plant? The question has now been taken up by the Cape and Islands district attorney, who is investigating allegations of fraud in connection with shoddy accounting practices flagged by town auditors. Under investigation is the way the sewer plant has documented septic pump-outs hauled by independent contractors; discrepancies were found between receipts at the plant and self-reporting done by the haulers on a handwritten ledger.

It is not yet known, at least publicly, whether money is missing, but the wastewater commission responded two weeks ago by shifting bill collection for septic haulers to the town tax collector.

And at the Edgartown annual town meeting on Tuesday night wastewater plant superintendent Joseph Alosso took the floor and apologized to voters.

That is all well and good for the short term, but larger questions loom for the longer term, chief among them the fact that Mr. Alosso holds down two jobs, working as the wastewater superintendent for both Edgartown and Oak Bluffs. This matter has been discussed before but here it is again and this time perhaps more compellingly — it confounds understanding how Mr. Alosso can manage the responsibilities of what are essentially two full-time jobs in two different locations.

With a criminal investigation now under way at the Edgartown plant, the town wastewater commission, which is elected by the voters, must do more than simply change the billing practices. Leadership and transparency are vital at this stage as the commission works to determine who is responsible and what should be done about it.

In situations where criminal investigations are under way, the person responsible is often placed on administrative leave. The wastewater commission should not shy from its role in this crucial matter.