Okaloosa County BOCC — May 17, 2013 — March 4 Special — reading text

is the system described in the AGO report. He said the TDC was assigned a variety of large responsibilities but never charged with oversight of looking at the checkbook register and seeing how funds were spent. Mr. Hall stated the emphasis was on the big picture. There was an extended exchange of questions and answers. Senator Bradley asked if he knew the BCC was not approving the recommendations. Mr. Hall replied that he did not expect them to act on individual allocations. Senator Bradley stated the TDC members just testified they were providing recommendations but Mr. Hall said he did not expect the BCC to approve them. Mr. Hall explained there was a large allocation of money for special events. The process which was set up at the TDC level was to vet through the Marketing Committee then to the TDC. He did not expect those allocations to go back to the BCC. March 4, 2013 -10- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Senator Bradley asked if there is a misunderstanding on the part of the council members. Mr. Hall replied there are two separate processes, saying the money resulting from the oil spill was not part of the tourist development tax revenues. The funding mechanism for the tourist development dollars has a narrative for use of each penny by line item in the county budget. This was pursuant to county ordinance and the TDC Plan. Senator Bradley requested clarification on the timeline and asked if the county administrator has been the same person. Mr. Hall replied in the negative that the first administrator (county manager) was Chris Holley. Upon inquiry by Senator Hays, Mr. Hall stated prior to Mr. Bellinger’s hiring, the Board had moved reporting responsibility for the director from the County Manager to the Chairman of the BCC. Senator Hays asked if Mark Bellinger ever declared the minutes were not to be recorded. Mr. Hall responded that Mr. Bellinger did make that decision. Continuing, Mr. Hall commented he was the contract counsel for the director, the tourist development department and the TDC Chairman. He advised that Mr. Bellinger did not like him, stopped talking to him and stopped inviting him to meetings. Upon further inquiry by Senator Hays, Mr. Hall stated he was not involved in the contracts with the advertising agencies. Upon inquiry by Representative Gaetz, Mr. Hall stated he did not review the advertising agency contracts. When asked for more information, Mr. Hall said generally contracts are handled by the Purchasing Department with advice from the County Attorney. Ms. Ellen Wingard, Vice President of Lewis Communications, was asked to come forward and was sworn in. Ms. Wingard stated Mark Bellinger asked the firm to work on a “Boast the Coast Campaign” which would tour many cities. She was told by Bellinger that he was not certain if Lewis Communications or the Zimmerman Agency would get to handle campaign. Ms. Wingard said they invoiced him according to procedures with a payment approval form. She confirmed they received the funds and began working on the project. However, Ms. Wingard stated Bellinger asked for the money for this campaign to be wired back to a Regions Bank account. He said he needed to allocate those funds to an escrow account. Ms. Wingard stated they continued to work on the project through August but never got the business and were not paid for their work. She advised they willingly talked with the Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. March 4, 2013 -11- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners When Senator Hays asked about their contract, Ms. Wingard said they had a contract with the county but it was not fee-based, saying they estimated costs in advance. She stated the client would then sign off and when approved, they would send an invoice in with the payment approval form. Representative Raulerson asked about the wire transfer to the account at the Regions Bank and asked if anyone vetted whose account it was. Ms. Wingard replied, “No, we did not.” Representative Raulerson again asked about Lewis Communications wiring $747,000 back to a bank account without verifying ownership of that account. Upon further inquiry by the Representative, Ms. Wingard stated the individuals who had the authority to make the wire transfer were herself and Lewis Communications President Larry Norris. Representative Raulerson asked what happened once the money got to Regions Bank. Ms. Wingard stated she did not know. She stated once it came out about the boat, Bellinger sent out an email to several people in their business. There was an article about the house purchase in the newspaper and the next morning after the article appeared, one of the media buyers saw the amount for the house was the same amount they had wired. She said after they researched this, they called the Emerald Coast Convention Center and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Representative Broxson asked Ms. Wingard didn’t she think it was unusual just to send the money to a bank account without checking it out. He said there appears to be no checks and balances to see if that was a proper account. Ms. Wingard replied Mr. Bellinger was their client and it was the county’s money. Representative Stafford asked if they had ever conducted business like that before with Mr. Bellinger to which Ms. Wingard replied “no.” Mr. Curtis Zimmerman and Mr. Richard Long of the Zimmerman Agency were sworn in. Mr. Zimmerman stated the Zimmerman Agency has represented the TDC for 21 years. He felt there was considerable accountability for the first 19 years but things began to change when Mark Bellinger became the director. Mr. Zimmerman said TDC Director Darrel Jones was always concerned about accountability. He stated Mr. Bellinger did not require or desire their help with the budget. Before Mr. Bellinger, he said either he or Mr. Long attended the majority of the TDC March 4, 2013 -12- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners meetings and the Marketing Committee meetings but they were no longer invited to attend because they asked too many questions. Mr. Zimmerman called Mark Bellinger a steamroller and said he wanted things done his way. Senator Bradley referred to a very detailed invoice of $251,262. He asked for an explanation of how the company purchased a $48,000 Porsche. Mr. Long answered that it started with an email from Mark Bellinger on August 7, 2010 in which he spoke about a prize for a viral marketing campaign and would fill in the details in a phone call later. During the telephone call, Mr. Bellinger said he had a great deal on a Porsche from a friend in New England. Mr. Long said Mr. Bellinger directed the purchase be billed back to the county and told them what to put on the invoice. He stated the advertising agency developed a promotion around giving away the Porsche. Upon inquiry by Senator Bradley, Mr. Long stated Zimmerman paid the dealer and then billed the county for the purchase. Senator Bradley stated Zimmerman acted as a bank for the county, asking if that is correct. Mr. Zimmerman replied they do that for most of their clients. He stated in Okaloosa County they typically would pay and get a reimbursement. Mr. Zimmerman added that for 19 years they followed procedures. Both Senator Abruzzo and Senator Bradley questioned the invoice as to why it did not mention the Porsche and why it was done that way. Mr. Long answered those were the instructions from Mr. Bellinger. Questioning continued on this subject. Mr. Zimmerman said he (Bellinger) already had made the purchase in advance but later said Bellinger had negotiated the purchase in advance. Mr. Zimmerman stated they told him it was the wrong vehicle and a bad idea. When asked by Senator Bradley why the Zimmerman Agency didn’t talk with anyone about this, Mr. Zimmerman said they had no relationship with the county and always dealt with the executive director. Mr. Zimmerman said Mr. Bellinger told them he had talked with the BCC Chairman and he agreed with the firm. He stated that is when the idea of the van was introduced as a prize for a Mother’s Day promotion and termed the promotion a success. Mr. Zimmerman stated Mr. Bellinger said he would return the Porsche. Upon inquiry by Senator Bradley about an approval form for the Porsche purchase, Mr. Long said it was an internal form and he does not think anyone in the county saw it. Upon inquiry by Representative Gaetz, Mr. Zimmerman stated it is not customary for the client to dictate to the agency but Mr. Bellinger would email instructions on how to fill out the March 4, 2013 -13- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners paperwork. Mr. Zimmerman also said Mr. Bellinger said he was going to take the item to the County Administrator and the BCC. Representative Gaetz stated the Zimmerman Agency made a great deal of money with the county and questioned having only one contact, which was Mark Bellinger. He felt this was an issue of client management and doing whatever it took. Representative Roberson asked the Zimmerman representatives about their involvement in the purchase of the yacht. He said the invoice for that purchase reflects a national advertised campaign for $710,000 but he does not see anything on the invoice about a yacht. Zimmerman said when the idea first came up, Mark Bellinger wanted it as a promotion to give away vacations. He stated they thought the idea had been shelved but subsequently he saw a local talk show where Bellinger talked about buying a yacht and moved forward with it. Mr. Long stated the yacht idea had been talked about for a while then disappeared and he thought it was dead. They got a call from Bellinger in December 2010 and moved forward with the yacht. He said similar to the Porsche purchase, Bellinger worked on the purchase with Legendary and detailed how the invoice should be prepared. Mr. Long stated Zimmerman billed the county and when they received payment, they forwarded payment to Legendary for the yacht. Senator Hays requested clarification on an earlier reference to the purchase of a van. Mr. Zimmerman stated it was a SUV. He said they felt the SUV was a more appropriate vehicle for the market (soccer moms). He pointed out the agency suggested to Bellinger that the vehicle should be purchased from a local dealership. Mr. Zimmerman said a woman from Dallas won the SUV. Upon inquiry by Representative Ray, Mr. Zimmerman stated the title for the Porsche was in Bellinger’s name and he traded it for a Subaru. Clerk of Courts Don Howard was called forward and sworn in. Mr. Howard stated he does not have a prepared statement. He noted that he has been present for all three meetings and is available to answer any questions. Upon inquiry by Senator Bradley, Mr. Howard stated his office is responsible for cutting checks and the same process has been in place since prior to Mr. Bellinger’s employment with the county. Upon further inquiry by the Senator, Mr. Howard said the only March 4, 2013 -14- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners procedural change came in 2005 when the TDC Director stopped reporting to the County Administrator and began reporting directly to the Board Chairman. Mr. Howard stated the Tourist Development Department is very unique and deals with large sums of money. He said there was nothing on the invoices to indicate an improper purchase. Mr. Howard noted the executive director had total control, dealt with the vendors and assured the Clerk’s Office the supporting documents were maintained by the TDC department. Senator Abruzzo asked Commissioner Amunds, Commissioner Harris, and