Supervisor for Wake solid waste services resigns

Raleigh, N.C. — A supervisor who approved numerous questionable business trips for a Wake County recycling coordinator has resigned, Wake County Manager David Cooke said Tuesday.

Jim Reynolds, who was the solid waste facilities manager for county's Environmental Services Department's Solid Waste Management Division, had been on administrative leave since last week.

Cooke also said that other supervisors also signed off on some of the trips. No other personnel action has been taken.

The investigation is ongoing.

The department has come under scrutiny after county officials found out that Craig Wittig had taken at least 46 taxpayer-funded trips since he was hired as a recycling coordinator in February 2006.

Some of those trips included destinations such as Disney World, Cape Canaveral and Yellowstone National Park.

Wittig, who said the trips were for research, was fired from his job on June 3.

The Wake County Board of Commissioners has since voted in favor of a countywide audit of departments in response to Wittig's termination.

Including Wittig, seven employees in that division charged $165,165 to credit cards issued by Wake County between April 2006 and last month, according to county records. But county officials have not said how much of that they think could have been used for inappropriate traveling.