An audit of DeKalb County government has revealed a troubling pattern of awarding no-bid purchasing orders, a discovery that argues strongly for dramatic changes in the county's contract approval process.

The forensic audit by KPMG confirmed concerns raised earlier by the county's own finance department. Under county policy, competitive bidding is required for contracts above $50,000, and county commission approval and scrutiny is required for contracts above $100,000. According to the audit, major contracts were being split so the payment amounts fell below those thresholds, subverting county policy.

The audit found 11 purchase orders of $49,000 apiece on the same day to the same firm. On another day, a county official approved six purchasing orders exceeding $268,000 to a single vendor.

The audit did not suggest criminality, but blamed a lack of training and confusion about county procurement policy. That conclusion seems generous at best.

The piecemeal purchase deals designed to fly below the official radar represented sizable amounts of cash. In one instance cited in the 28-page audit, a vendor with a $50,000 contract ended up being paid a total of $3.7 million by DeKalb County, all without bidding. A second vendor with no contract received $3.2 million.

Commissioners have expressed understandable concern over these split contracts, many of which occurred within the Information Systems Department, which ran over its budget last year by at least $1.4 million.

"We don't even know what these contracts are about," said Commissioner Elaine Boyer, who chairs the commission's audit and purchasing contract committee. "Technology is a large department with 112 employees, so why do they need 44 outside consultants?"

That's a good question, and after a KPMG auditor presents the findings at a public meeting Tuesday, the commission ought to demand answers to it from county staff.