In the 10 months since Okaloosa County discovered former tourism head Mark Bellinger’s misuse of public funds, it has made major changes in how it approves expenditures of bed tax money.
The county has revised the ordinance that authorizes the Tourist Development Council and its use of bed tax revenue, adding more layers of control and tighter restrictions on spending.
Many of those changes also have affected the way county Clerk of Court Don Howard — who oversees the county’s finance department — conducts business.
“This new policy is going to be much better, there’s no question,” Howard said. “I totally agree with it. … It’s going to enhance the checks and balances and the internal controls.”
No longer will Howard’s office rely on the sole approval of the head of the Tourist Development Department as it did with Bellinger.
Bellinger operated with the unique authority to negotiate with vendors and determine what the costs of various expenditures would be. That autonomy allowed him to make purchases without supplying the clerk’s office with supporting documents such as vendor receipts and other bills of sale.
“The former director had the authority to enter into those programs with the vendor and the authority to approve, which signified to us … that the goods and services on that invoice were delivered,” Howard said. “That all has been changed with the new ordinance and policies.”
Now Howard and his staff require extensive documentation of a negotiated price before a check is issued for the purchase. Any vendor making a purchase on behalf of the county also must have written authorization before the purchase is made.
“There’s another step that’s been added to it, which I think is really good, and that’s task orders,” Howard said. “If you’ve got promotion A, it will be authorized by a specific task order. It’s going to be for this purpose … and cost this much. And that’s the way the county works in other departments.”
Howard said the new procedures mark a significant improvement from what was in place under Bellinger.
“I don’t think there’s any question … that the structure that existed at the time this problem occurred in the TDC was a bad structure,” he said. “There was too much authority consolidated with one person. I’m glad to see the changes.”
In recent weeks, Howard and other county officials have defended their handling of the TDC scandal before state legislators and residents. Many critics have called for the county to hold specific employees responsible for their roles in approving Bellinger’s questionable purchases.
Howard said he has reviewed the county finance staff’s actions and found no need to discipline anyone.
“I can find nothing that happened within the scope of our responsibility … that indicated someone was doing something improper or something they should not have done,” he said.
Howard said there is “a very heightened awareness” among his staff to make sure everything they’re doing is “in keeping with the new policies and procedures.”
