Orange comptroller: Visit Orlando audit may take year

Auditing Visit Orlando, which has faced scrutiny for its lack of transparency on taxpayer spending, could take a year, Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond said Friday. When asked if his office will examine the tourism marketing organization’s contracts or conflict-of-interest allegations, he said he goes into each audit without any bias.

“We try not to prejudge any audit before we start. We go where the facts lead us,” Diamond said. At the start of an audit, his staff reviews an organization’s internal controls and financial documents, then determines the scope of their probe, he said.

The last time the comptroller’s office independently reviewed Visit Orlando was detailed in a January 2009 report. The audit found the organization did not keep all contract information in a central file and some contracts were open-ended, including an agreement with a United Kingdom marketing firm that paid $744,373 in one year and had not been rebid since it began in 1999.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said Friday she supports the audit.

“Having the comptroller independently look at it, I hope will answer some of the questions that are lingering out there,” she said, adding it could be helpful showing ways Visit Orlando could improve.

Visit Orlando has faced scrutiny on how much it has spent on a sponsorship deal with the U.S. Tennis Association as well as a WOFL-Channel 35 weather and traffic camera, which it disclosed this week cost $76,500 in tax money. The agency also was questioned about whether it had a conflict of interest for doing business with its board members — an allegation Visit Orlando has denied.

The agency’s board members typically vote on the budget or strategies, but don’t look at individual contracts, Jacobs said. She added that the USTA sponsorship, a larger deal, was an exception and did go before the board.

Visit Orlando advertises with the Sentinel, and Fox 35 has a news partnership with the newspaper.