"We're cooperating with the county and we're glad they brought it to our attention," Overby said. "We're not butting heads on what the problem is; there was just a computer system error."

But Hamilton said the problem for the county wasn't just a one-time computer flaw. The oversight was repeated throughout divisions in the public works department and could be occurring across the county, she said.

In the case of fleet, the escalating charges may have gone undetected because of the fleet's $10 million surplus. The extra money for purchasing may merely have been absorbed easily into the budget.

A fleet task-force report released in May did hint at the problem, suggesting an audit of all vendor billings to ensure they complied with existing contracts. The report also noted that discounts for parts and shop rates were less-than-expected for a fleet the size of the county's.

The same report also said overall fleet costs were 15 percent higher than justified.

"We certainly have seen lots of poor record keeping and other questionable items," said Paul Lauria, a private consultant studying the county's fleet system.

Although the contract prices were outside the scope of his investigation, Lauria said other aspects of the fleet's financial records were also seriously flawed.

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E-mail: estewart@desnews.com