The California State Auditor says Anaheim hasn’t properly managed its tourism contracts and millions in related money, according to a report released Tuesday morning by the agency.
The audit put public money sent by the city to Visit Anaheim and the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce under a microscope for potential misuse of funds.
The state auditors are recommending the city implement additional oversight of its contracts and of tourism district funds that come from hotel stays. They also say Anaheim should amend its agreement with Visit Anaheim to have more performance indicators and the city should see if any money from prior contracts with the chamber should be returned.
“We determined that the city lacked a meaningful contract monitoring process and did not properly manage the contracts it entered into with these entities, resulting in unallowable spending and unmet deliverables,” Grant Parks, the California state auditor, said in the report.
Mayor Ashleigh Aitken and Councilmember Norma Campos Kurtz in a news release from the city welcomed the audit and recommendations, some of which will require future council action. City Manager James Vanderpool has asked the city’s audit division to review chamber contracts, officials said.
The state auditor said from its review that Visit Anaheim improperly subcontracted with the chamber without the city’s permission. The chamber then used tourism funds for “unallowable services, including advocating for or against proposed federal, state, and local legislation, meeting with elected officials and policymakers, and supporting resort-friendly candidates through the chamber’s political action committee,” the report said.
The auditors criticized the chamber for not demonstrating that it provided Visit Anaheim with agreed upon services, including holding meetings with local businesses.
Anaheim did not have a meaningful process in place at the time for contract monitoring, according to the report. The city…
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