City Comptroller John Liu wants the Department of Education to be more careful when paying its bills.

According to an audit by the comptroller's office, the DOE needs to do a better job of screening invoices submitted by vendors doing business with children with special needs.

Liu said education officials paid the bills without checking if the charges were legitimate.

The audit cites one instance where a vendor charged the DOE for services to a family that was out of town.

Though Liu acknowledged the DOE has improved since past audits, he said there's room to do more.

“The Department has already implemented most of the recommendations in the report," a statement from the DOE said. "We are confident that those actions have improved the controls in our billing processes.”