Questions On Drill Rig Spending Raised In Rogers County Audit

Although Commissioner Mike Helm calls a Roger County audit, "shoddy, biased and vindictive," it has still raised serious questions about spending at the courthouse.

There are a number of allegations in the audit. One accuses the county of spending thousands of unnecessary dollars on a drill rig purchased by Helm.

One of the issues at the center of the Rogers County misspending debate is this drill rig. The 2011 audit shows Rogers County elected officials did not exhaust every effort to find the lowest, best price for the rig.

According to the report, the vendor bought the rig for $510,000 from a distributor who initially purchased the drill rig for $450,000.

The audit says the county ended up buying the rig for $583,000, which is $73,000 more than the vendor price.

An employee with the distributor said he would have sold the rig directly to Rogers County, but was reportedly told by someone with the vendor that the county only did business with them.

The audit says the drill has not been used in the two and a half years the county has owned it.

In an exclusive interview with the Oologah Lake Leader, Commissioner Helm said that is a false statement. He told the paper the drill will be used this summer on at least two bridges in the county.

The county commissioners are planning a public meeting to talk about the things found in this audit. They have not said when that meeting will happen.