Saturday, April 15, 2000
City: No misuse of tourism money
African American chamber cleared
BY Robert Anglen
The Cincinnati Enquirer
After freezing funds for an African American Chamber of Commerce tourism program, Cincinnati officials said Friday that documents for all expenses had been provided and no money was misspent.
But the determination came two days after chamber officials canceled the program and agreed to return any unspent money. They said marketing efforts were hampered by controversy over the city's actions.
“Adverse circumstances diminished our assurance that (program) related expenses would be paid,” wrote the Rev. Kenneth Price, who was hired by the chamber to lead the tourism program. “Early successes with Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and PurchasePro.com were eclipsed by suspicions and rumors of fiscal mismanagement.”
The Tourism-Multicultural Impact Project was designed to generate millions of dollars by bringing diverse groups to the region from across the country. Part of that effort was a May conference that would include speakers and seminars.
In a report Friday to the City Council, acting Economic Development Director Antoinette Selvey-Maddox cleared the tourism program. She advised continued funding of the group's three-year contract.
Last month, however, Ms. Selvey-Maddox had frozen the tourism account after the city had distributed $215,000 of the $300,000 contract. She said no more funds would be released until the chamber provided detailed documents for expenditures.
The move sparked outrage from chamber President James Clingman, who denied any wrongdoing.
On Wednesday, chamber officials told city officials they would return $93,308 of unspent funds and attempt to “close this out by the end of April.”
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