A recent article in the Orlando Business Journal (OBJ) revealed that the Orange County not-for-profit trade association named “Visit Orlando” may need to reimburse nearly $20 million in misclassified funds back to its tourist development tax account.
According to OBJ, the figure was tabulated and publicly disclosed by Wendy Kittleson, the deputy director of county audit at the Orange County Comptroller’s Office, during an Orange County Commission meeting on Aug. 26. Kittleson’s disclosure concided with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia announcing that the state was sending subpoenas to Orange County employees as part of an ongoing audit by the Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Kittleson said the investigation into Visit Orlando’s financials in the 2023 calendar year revealed that 39% of $8.98 million in private funds — or approximately $3.54 million — should have been reported as tourist development tax (TDT) funds, and should be reimbursed to the correct account,” OBJ reporter Patricia Tolley wrote. “It’s that misclassification Kittleson said Visit Orlando may have repeated each year in some form from 2019 to 2024 — to the tune of about $19.95 million total.”
Mayor Demings firmly rejected DeSantis’ claims regarding the lack of transparency from Orange County employees who responded to the state government’s efficiency audit.
“Orange County Government fully cooperated with the Florida DOGE audit team, providing all the data and documents requested,” Demings said. “No employee was instructed to alter, change or delete any documents,” Demings said in a statement. “While our employees may have read from or referred to notes or documents being discussed by the DOGE team, employees were not scripted in their remarks. The state has offered no evidence to support its allegation that we were hiding information or acting without integrity. We welcome the opportunity for full public transparency on this issue.”
The audit debate between DeSantis and Demings marks the second flare-up between the two leaders within the past 30 days. During the first week of August, Demings reluctantly signed an agreement to cooperate with state and federal immigration officials after DeSantis threatened to remove DeSantis from office for refusing to comply with state law enforcement.
