It’s all in state Rep. Willie Perkins’ hands now.
Paige Hunt, executive director of the Greenwood Convention and Visitors Bureau, said today she has submitted all the information Perkins has requested.
Following a Dec. 17 subcommittee meeting about the future of the tax that funds the tourism agency, Perkins asked Hunt to give him documents about spending with Hammons and Associates advertising agency and a material discrepancy in the CVB’s 2008 audit.
He then sent a letter on Dec. 21 asking for an explanation of why Hunt wasn’t listed as chair of the Mississippi Blues Fest in earlier documentation. Perkins said if he had known she chaired that group, he and other committee members would have questioned her about the four grants totaling $22,540 that the blues fest has received since October 2009.
He also asked for documentation about the festival and the members who run it.
The 1 percent tax on dining and lodging that funds the CVB expires Sept. 30. Perkins and others have raised concerns about minority participation in CVB programs. Perkins chairs the House Local and Private committee, which has control over the bill that would reauthorize the tax.
Hunt said the CVB does a really good job of helping in any way it can with any group that fits within its program. She said the only group turned down for a funding request last year was the Greenwood Country Club because the CVB’s board of directors felt it wasn’t diverse enough.
Hunt said she doesn’t believe there’s a conflict with her participation with the Blues Fest. She said in a small community there are going to be overlaps and that she tries hard not to show favoritism.
“When that group appears for grants, I don’t have anything to do with it,” Hunt said.
Hunt said the material instance from the 2008 audit was that the CVB brought in more tax money than it had budgeted but did not change the budget to reflect the increased revenue.
“It was simply an oversight in our bookkeeping,” she said.
Hunt said the mistake has not been made since.
The CVB spent $31,033 in 2009 and $61,829 in 2010 with Hammons. Hunt said the spending is for professional services and does not require advertising for bids. The state Auditor’s Office has said the same thing.
Perkins could not be reached for comment this morning at the state Capitol.
The Greenwood City Council has requested that the state Legislature reauthorize the tourism tax. The council’s request would add three voting members to the CVB board: representatives of Mississippi Valley State University, the Greenwood Hotel/Motel Association and the Greenwood Restaurant Association.
Tom Hood, executive director of the state Ethics Commission, said Wednesday that there is probably no issue with Valley being a voting member because it is a state agency. If it were a private college, business or nonprofit organization, it probably wouldn’t be allowed to be a voting member and receive funds, Hood said.
Cottonlandia Museum and the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce are non-voting board members.
• Contact Charlie Smith at csmith@gwcommonwealth.com.
