BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County Comptroller’s Office is calling for a better way to track and manage county vehicles, after an audit of the Bureau of Fleet Services found 365 vehicles unaccounted for.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick said.

This story was first brought to light in a recent Buffalo News article.

The county owns more than 1,200 vehicles, at a cost of around $10 million per year. This includes leased and owned vehicles.

Mary Hosler, Erie County Deputy Comptroller of Audits, went over it with me. It shows 365 unaccounted county vehicles.

“An example of somebody that had a car, and the person who signed off on it didn’t know they had a car,” Hosler said.

WATCH: Audit finds 365 Erie County vehicles unaccounted for

Audit finds 365 Erie County vehicles unaccounted for

The Erie County Comptroller’s Office said the Erie County Sheriff’s Office did not provide all of their vehicles in the audit, including some that are brought home by employees. Hosler said some VIN numbers were blocked out for confidentiality in the audit.

Erie County Sheriff John Garcia sent this to me:

“Pursuant to this audit, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office turned over hundreds of pages of fleet records, maintenance logs and more. We took necessary steps to protect information related to confidential vehicles that are used as part of operations such as intelligence gathering, special operations and the transportation of crime victims. We take the sensitivity of this information extremely seriously. The Comptroller’s Office has previously demonstrated its inability to keep sensitive information confidential. With the safety of my staff at stake, I will not engage in a political game. Furthermore, any delay in the transmission of information from the Erie County Sheriff’s Office can be attributed to the Comptroller’s Office’s failure to seek the information through the proper channels.”

Erie County Legislator John Mills wrote a letter to the Erie County legislature last week, saying this is “extremely serious.” He said that taxpayers could be “defrauded through fuel theft” and brought up multiple points from the audit that include compromised fuel system controls, unauthorized take-home vehicles, missing GPS tracking and impossible fuel and mileage data.

Mills has called for an immediate resolution to this and an explanation from the Commissioner of Public Works, Comptroller and Fleet Services Manager. It’s on the agenda for Thursday’s Erie County Legislature meeting.