By D. L. Norris
In the August 6, 2019 BOCC monthly meeting, the Director of the Tourist Development Council (TDC), requested the following of the BOCC (copied from the published agenda item #2): Request approval of BooneOakly Production Estimate 18023 in the amount of $553,982 for one print shoot and one digital content shoot in September and Production Estimate 18024 in the amount of $766,092 for one broadcast and digital content shoot in October, and deviation/waiving of certain county policy and contract terms.
The deviation from policy is that this contract will be paid based on deliverables rather than reimbursement based on expense receipts. There was no public discussion among the BOCC on the pros and cons of deviating from county policy for this particular item.
Then, the Clerk of Courts, J. D. Peacock, chimed in. For those unaware, the County Clerk of Court also serves as the County Inspector General so, the Inspector General had this to say: “Mr. Chairman, Board, and Jennifer’s Department, so this process, I wanted to commend all the stakeholders, Charlotte and Jennifer, for getting everybody involved in the process to do this. It’s something that’s a little different from the past when we’ve got a million two worth of spend that’s in the agenda item and it says deviation waiving of policy. So it was very good to get all of the stakeholders involved, all of the people that need to be held accountable, to what we’re doing here. You know as well as I do, your department is different than the rest because of past history. And, so, we watch it very closely and, so, thank you for being engaged up front. Out of that meeting there was only really one concern that I wanted to make sure you understand from me and that had to do with the potential impact of a cash flow issue for reimbursement to the vendor. And, the reason I bring that up is, we have had problems with vendors who have had cash flow problems in the past, from a structural process standpoint. So, it raises a red flag when a vendor doesn’t have cash flow to do the work. And, especially in your department. So, I wanted to make sure you are aware of how concerning that is, so that we’re watching very close. I apreciate getting all the stake holders together and we talked about the issues and you know the concerns we have. Know that we’re watching closely and thank you for all the work you’re doing to make sure everybody is there. But, know that that is a concern and we’ll watch that pretty closely.” The meeting referred to was with the Clerks Office, Legal, the Purchasing Team, and OMB.
None of the commissioners were in that meeting so this is the first public opportunity for the commissioners to discuss the proposed deviation from county policy and no discussion occurred at all.
This is conerning based on the scandalous history of the TDC and, the fact that most of these commissioners were voted into office in the wake of that past TDC scandal. For those not familiar with the TDC scandal, a brief accounting follows.
In May 2010, Okaloosa County hired Mark Bellinger as Director of the TDC. He then proceeded to use bed tax money and BP Oil spill money to defraud the government. He was able to do so because he used one of the marketing firms that provided services to the TDC, unbeknownst to them, and Okaloosa County and was able to shuffle money between the two agencies. He bought a $710,00 Marquis yacht without BOCC approval that he claimed was for part of a yearlong tourism promotion. He also bought a $747,000 home in Kelly EstatePlantation. In addition to the yacht and the house, Bellinger also bought an unauthorized lease to house the TDC’s newest welcome center, a Porsche, more than $100,000 on custom motorcycles and $82,000 on a Jeep Wrangler and Dodge Durango truck. In a May 2012 meeting before the BOCC, Mark Bellinger tried to explain why he bought a luxury yacht with more than $710,000 in county bed-tax money. He resigned after the BOCC voted down a motion to terminate him. He then committed suicide three days later.
This is the history that the Inspector General was reminding everyone of in the August 6, 2019 BOCC meeting, and not one of the commissioners bothered to ask why was it necessary to deviate from county policy for this particular contract? More importantly, not one of the commissioners bothered to ask what will the specific deliverables look like? Hopefully, not a yacht and a plantation home. The BOCC voted unanimously to approve the TDC request for deviation/waiving of certain county policy and contract terms. To the BOCC, maybe you should view the Inspector General as if he’s E.F. Hutton, when he speaks, you should listen: “red flag”.
You can contact the author at dlnorris@theparadisepatriot.com