Missing gas from Pct. 4 prompted action
By Rena Peden
Parker County Commissioners unanimously approved the purchase of an integrated fuel management and monitoring system for Precinct 4 at their Feb. 11 meeting.
The steps to purchase a system similar to those in other precincts followed County Auditor Ron Stokes’ audit of the precinct last December.

A memo to Pct. 4 Commissioner Jim Webster in January covering a detailed audit of the gasoline disbursement logs and purchases for fiscal year ending September, 2007 stated, “Approximately 2,675 gallons of gasoline were unaccounted for. At an average cost of $2.35 per gallon, this equates to a loss of $6,286.25 to the county.”

The Stokes memo included documentation, dating back to 2004, criticizing Webster because “there are absolutely no controls to prevent usage of both diesel and or gasoline in personal vehicles or to insure that we are receiving as much fuel as we are paying for.”

“We did put the auditor’s recommendations into place,” Webster about the 2004 audit.

For more on this story, see the Feb. 22-29 issue of The Community News, on sale now.