A recent article in the Orlando Business Journal (OBJ) revealed that the Association of Orange County Nonprofits, named “Visiting Orlando,” may need to refund nearly $20 million to the Tourism Development Tax Account with misclassified funds.
The figures were tallied and made public by Wendy Kittleson, deputy director of the county audit at the Orange County Commissioner’s office during an August 26 meeting of the Orange County Commissioner’s Committee. Audited by the Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Kittleson said a survey of Visit Orlando’s financials in the 2023 calendar year revealed that $8.98 million in private funds (approximately $3.54 million) should be reported as a Tourism Development Tax (TDT) fund and refunded to the correct account. “The misclassified Kittleson says that Visit Orlando could have been repeated in some way each year from 2019 to 2024.
Mayor Demings firmly rejected DeSantis’ claims about the lack of transparency from Orange County employees in response to the state’s efficiency audit.
“The Orange County Government worked fully with the Florida Dozi Audit Team and provided all the data and documents requested,” Demings said. “No employees were instructed to modify, modify or delete the document,” Demings said in a statement. “Employees may have read or been featured from memos and documents being discussed by the Doge team, but employees are not scripted in their remarks. The state does not provide evidence to support allegations that we are hiding information or acting in good faith.
The audit debate between Desantis and Demings shows the second flare-up between the two leaders within the past 30 days. In the first week of August, Demings reluctantly signed a contract to work with state and federal immigration officials after Desantis threatened to remove him from his office for refusing to comply with state law enforcement.
