The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s board of directors is scheduled to meet behind closed doors Thursday to discuss the agency’s chief financial officer’s accusations that general manager Adel Hagekhalil harassed, belittled and marginalized her and created a hostile work environment .
Finance Minister Katano Kasaine made the allegations in a statement letter obtained by politicians.
“In my nearly 30 years of government service, I have encountered toxic work environments, but none as hostile and dysfunctional as the Met,” Kassain said in the May 27 letter. “Although I worked tirelessly and performed well, but even coming to work became very stressful and I was constantly scrutinized, marginalized, and belittled for speaking out against issues that were not in the best interests of the Met.
When Hag Khalil traveled to Singapore for a water conference, a special meeting was arranged. According to the meeting agenda, The closed-door meeting will include a review of Hag Khalil’s performance and discussion of potential discipline or dismissal.
Hag Khalil responded to the allegations in a text message, saying: “I have always held myself to the highest standards of integrity and promoted this to all employees at the Met. I have always treated everyone and anyone in my office with genuine respect. No one was mistreated and any suggestion to the contrary is false.
He said the claims were “disagreement over management decisions”.
“When I started working at MWD, I temporarily added Katano’s responsibilities, and as CFO, she has played a key leadership role in MWD’s recent actions, including overseeing the agency’s adoption of a biennial budget and the development of a long-term financial plan. plan,” Hag Khalil said.
MWD is the largest wholesale supplier of drinking water in the United States, serving cities and institutions serving 19 million people in Southern California.
