OKALOOSA ISLAND — The newly appointed Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council held its first meeting Thursday, focusing on a renewed commitment to transparency and rigorous attention to state law.
The council delved into its duties with help from Tallahassee attorneys Greg Stewart and Lynn Hoshihara, who serve as special counsels to the county.
Stewart told the TDC members at their meeting at the Emerald Coast Convention Center that they have “a very important job” and emphasized their advisory role.
“You are not the final decision makers of anything,” he said. “You make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners.”
Stewart briefed the council on the importance of the Sunshine Law, public records and ethics.
“It is incredibly important that we follow them to the letter,” he said. “There are criminal sanctions if we don’t.”
Stewart also urged the new members to educate themselves and ask questions.
“When in doubt, ask us. That’s the rule of thumb,” he said.
The council elected Dale E. Peterson as chairman and Tom Rice as vice chairman.
Peterson and TDC member Daniel Empson did not attend the meeting.
The meeting was the council’s first since late January, when most of the TDC members resigned at the request of the county commissioners. The resignations were part of the fallout from the fraud scheme concocted by former TDC director Mark Bellinger.
Bellinger’s misuse of millions of dollars in bed tax money and BP oil spill funds prompted an audit by the Florida Auditor General and scrutiny from the state’s Joint Legislative Auditing Committee.
In response to many of the auditor general’s findings, the county has overhauled its tourist development policies and procedures. It also updated the county ordinance that authorizes the TDC as a nine-member advisory board to the county commissioners.
Dan O’Byrne, director of the tourist development department, told the new members that they will be expected to develop a proposed budget to be submitted to commissioners and to oversee his department’s finances on a quarterly basis.
O’Byrne said the previous TDC operated with “nowhere near the rigor” that will be required by the new council.
One of the most significant changes is the elimination of advance payments, he said.
“We no longer pay for any goods or services until they are received,” O’Byrne said.
During Bellinger’s tenure, the funding of tourism-related events often was haphazard, with little or no accounting of how the money was spent.
The county’s new policies require individuals and groups seeking money for a sponsorship or special event to apply at least 60 days beforehand. They also must provide a detailed report of the event’s past results, such as the number of participants and room nights it generated.
And for at least one year, the amount of bed tax money that can be awarded to groups for events or sponsorships will be capped at $20,000. Also under the revamped policy, all expenditures up to $25,000 must be approved by O’Byrne, and the county’s purchasing director.
That means the TDC won’t make recommendations on special events or sponsorships.
O’Byrne said commissioners might consider removing the $20,000 cap in the future.
“That’s something I think we’ll have to grow to,” he said. “Right now that’s the cap.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.