Step aside until investigation is over

The DuPage Water Commission lost $19 million and its managers want you to foot the bill to clean up their mess.

It's not clear what happened. Forensic auditors are crunching numbers and pricey lawyers are investigating. Meanwhile, water rates likely will be increasing.

Outraged? People should be.

This $19 million didn't disappear overnight. We're told the money set aside for emergency repairs depleted slowly, tapped because the water commission charges less than what they pay the city of Chicago for Lake Michigan water. Money has been moving out of the fund set up to finance repairs into the general operating fund, leaving too few dollars to pay $53 million in debt.

Now the water commission wants to borrow $60 million to pay bills and rebuild reserves. Water rates reportedly could jump 42 percent.

Finance chief Max Richter took sick leave and quit after the mess was discovered. Those still standing are now pointing fingers.

How did the auditors miss this? Why didn't longtime Water Commission General Manager Robert Martin, who supervised Richter, realize something was out of whack? Why weren't the commissioners asking the right questions?

The investigation will require honesty and transparency from everyone involved, especially Martin. We urge his full cooperation.

But we're not comfortable leaving him in charge right now. We urge Martin to take a voluntary unpaid leave of absence while maintaining close contact with the investigators.

Martin's management must be scrutinized. Until we understand how the general manager could miss a $19 million error, he should not be overseeing the day-to-day operations.

The board last week took away Martin's power to manage the agency's finances after discovering $3 million shuffled from one fund to another. The move wasn't considered improper, but board members scoffed because it happened during the investigation. "I have very serious concerns about the decision-making process going on here," said board member Don Zeilenga.

So do we.

For years, we were led to believe the water commission had plenty of money - enough for DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom to use $75 million of it to help cover the county's budget shortfall, in fact.

Government watchdogs would not have caught this problem based on published documents. Visit the DuPage Water Commission's Web site and peruse annual financial reports. In 2007, it appeared to have $13 million for emergency repairs. In 2008, that number appeared to be $18.8 million. How could this be so wrong?

Residents and businesses in 30 DuPage County communities rely on this agency to provide a safe, reliable delivery system - in a fiscally responsible manner. With this financial mismanagement, there's no question the DuPage Water Commission has failed.

Until we understand what happened - and who's responsible - we need leadership we trust.