The article in the March 27, 2008, issue of the CrossRoadsNews regarding the audit of the purchasing department by KPMG caused me to ask more questions than were answered by the audit.

How many years did the audit cover? What is the total number of contracts under the $50,000 threshold that avoided board approval? What is the actual dollar amount of overpayment of all contracts by the purchasing department?

Can the county recover the overpayment? Does the Board of Commissioners plan to recover any overpayment? If companies that were overpaid refuse to return the overpayment, will Board of Commissioners prohibit those companies from bidding on purchases for the county?

It appears to me the chief executive officer is correct in part of his comment regarding the findings of the forensic audit.

The buck didn't stop with the CEO; it started with him.

The CEO was quoted in the article stating, "One of my biggest challenges is cleaning the stuff up." The CEO's comments remind me of an old saying: "There is nothing more useless than to do a little better that which should have never been done in the first place."

I also question the sincerity of the candidate for CEO, who now as a candidate realizes that after seven-plus years on the board it was time for a forensic audit of the purchasing department.

The question by the board member Lee May regarding illegal or criminal activities of wasting taxpayers' money seems to miss the point of the audit according to Mr. Sullivan of KPMG.

The point is that a "pervasive environment" exists where county rules were ignored over time and that cost the taxpayers of DeKalb County.

If KPMG is indeed recommending a 1-800 whistleblower number to report abuse anonymously, it seems the forensic audit only uncovered a small amount of the misuse of taxpayer dollars in DeKalb.

The members of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners have a duty to the citizens of this county to know how our tax dollars are spent, so when they do have town hall meeting or choose to seek higher office they can truly say they have been good stewards of the taxpayers' money.

For those of us who continue to vote for tax increases, and don't expect accountability from the commissioners we elect to represent our best interests, we deserve what we get.

It is quite possible the failure to adhere to policy, procedures and codes within the purchasing department of DeKalb County could have funded the hiring of a few new police officers, reduced property taxes or any other need for the citizens of DeKalb.

If the current CEO is serious about "cleaning the stuff up," then I challenge Mr. CEO to order a forensic audit of the purchasing department for the past seven years and ask the auditing company to also report if any of the companies or their employees being overpaid with our county taxpayer money are contributors to his or any of the Board of Commissioners' past or present campaigns for elective office.

Chances are this board will be re-elected and the ineffective representation we have had for the previous six years will continue.

Jerry Wyatt lives in Lithonia.