Responding to a fraud investigation launched last month by the Cape and Islands district attorney, on Monday the Edgartown wastewater commission voted to change the way the town collects its wastewater bills.

In January the town’s annual audit revealed discrepancies between the receipts from an electronic keypad at the wastewater facility and the self-reported loads from septic haulers recorded on a handwritten ledger. In written comments to the wastewater department auditors also criticized the practice of billing and collecting from the same office, which they wrote “increases the risk of errors and irregularites occurring and going undetected.”

In response, on Monday at the wastewater commission’s monthly meeting facilities manager Joe Alosso read a letter from the wastewater commission to the town announcing changes at the department.

“Effective immediately as per the recommendation of the town auditors the Edgartown wastewater department will not be accepting payment for any invoices it issues,” he said. “That includes monthly septage bills and annual usage charges. All recipients of invoices shall be directed to submit payment to the town collector’s office.”

Wastewater commission chairman James Carter explained the changes.

“[The auditors] have asked us not to do billing and collections in the same office; the town of Edgartown has not been willing to move forward with that over the last few years and so we’re taking it upon ourselves because we’re getting a black eye,” he said.

“By God, they can have this problem as far as I’m concerned,” said commissioner Cliff Karako.

But Mr. Alosso said this is not the first time the town audit has recommended segregating the billing and collecting for wastewater.

“The town has not been willing to adopt that,” he said. “The wastewater commissioners have decided not to wait for the town to adopt it; we’ve just decided we’re not doing it anymore and now it’s up to the town to figure out what they’re going to do.”

The wastewater commissioners also said that they would not be able to continue the practice of charging less to haulers for septic pumpouts generated in Edgartown. The commission had charged 11 cents per gallon for septage generated in Edgartown and 28 cents per gallon for septage generated elsewhere.

“I don’t know how we can still do that based on what we just went through,” said Mr. Karako.

In a letter to selectmen the commissioners wrote: “We are not at all confident that the savings are consistently passed along [to the homeowners of Edgartown] and have some doubts about whether septage generated outside of Edgartown isn’t being recorded as Edgartown septage so the hauler gets charged a lower rate per gallon.”

The commission has also installed wastewater flow metering technology at the recommendation of the audit to remediate the inaccurate self-reporting of the Island’s six septage haulers.

“This new piece of equipment, it actually sends the amount of flow that’s been pumped into the unit to Joe’s computer and it goes to the town hall computer,” said Mr. Carter. “No one can change it. It’s an absolute record of septage pump out.”

Finally commissioners voiced their displeasure with their treatment by selectmen at a March 23 meeting.

“I just find it distasteful for the town to question this board and you [Mr. Alosso] when there’s a pending state investigation,” Mr. Karako said. “I find it ethically wrong.”

Mr. Alosso said that he found the presentation of the auditor’s report at that meeting misleading, especially an allegation that the department was not keeping its records.

“The records retention thing bothered me just because it wasn’t true,” he said. “The gentleman who presented the audit wasn’t the auditor who audited us. I don’t know if there was sort of a good cop, bad cop thing or what. To say that we didn’t retain the records and in the same sentence say we have the records but we can’t read them, he sort of contradicted himself; of course we kept the records, we’re required to . . . I know that they were hard to read and I take full responsibility.”

Commissioners say that with the change in billing and the installation of the new septage flow metering technology they have fully complied with the recommendations of the audit.

“As soon as the audit happened I think we responded as fast as we could,” said Mr. Carter.

Auditor Chris Rogers has yet to sign the town’s report, a decision that could affect the town’s bond rating. Mr. Rogers has told the selectmen that he would not sign the final report until the fraud investigation is completed.

“I am disappointed that the auditor won’t sign the auditor’s report,” said Mr. Alosso on Monday. “I don’t understand that.”