RALEIGH - Wake commissioners voted unanimously Monday to hire an outside accounting firm for a sweeping audit of credit card use by county employees.

The review is in direct response to public disclosure of spending by a handful of workers in the county's Solid Waste Management Division that included trips to Walt Disney World and the purchase of clothing, camping gear and CDs.

"The reason to have an audit is to tell the public this was an isolated incident," said County Manager David Cooke, who proposed hiring the outside firm. "I've been here 12 years, and in my recollection we've not had to deal with anything like this."

The Raleigh firm Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, which is already performing the county's annually required outside financial audit, will review all purchasing by the county's Environmental Services Department going back to January 2006 and all other county departments for the past year.

The firm's total contract with the county will cost up to $237,500, of which Cooke said between $125,000 and $150,000 would be for the audit of credit card purchases. The firm is to report its initial findings back to the county within 60 days.

The period for the review in environmental services purchases, which includes the solid waste division, coincides roughly with the tenure of former recycling program manager Craig P. Wittig, who was fired June 3.

In the little more than two years he worked for the county, Wittig took at least 50 out-of-town trips -- an average of two a month. He and five subordinates racked up $161,233 in travel costs and other expenses to credit cards issued by Wake County and paid for with public money.

Cooke said he is still considering personnel action against others involved in the scandal, including demoted solid waste director James S. Reynolds, who signed off on the questionable spending.

Commissioners said Monday they have received hundreds of calls from outraged taxpayers and county employees demoralized by the scandal.

Cooke said he would make budget cuts, including the elimination of Wittig's now-vacant position, to make up for the fired employee's spending spree and the cost of the resulting audit.

"The taxpayers should not have to bear the burden of our mistake," Cooke said.