Most of the $500,000 in public money for the Cincinnati 2012 Olympic bid is gone, which certainly will frustrate some Ohio lawmakers who want the state's share back.

        Nick Vehr, president of Cincinnati 2012, says most of the $250,000 from Ohio was spent.That includes a small portion on his $166,000-a-year salary and the salaries of his staff.

        Mr. Vehr said it will be about a week before his organization has a full accounting of all the allowable expenses that have been taken out of the Ohio grant, which was approved in early October but applies to expenses incurred since July 1.

        “We have to go back and look at past receipts and find out which of those receipts are eligible for the state grant,” Mr. Vehr said. “We haven't gone through that exercise.

        “But, yes, it is possible” all of the money was used.

        Ohio Rep. Tom Brinkman, R-Mount Lookout, said he has one message for Mr. Vehr and Cincinnati 2012: “Give us our money back — all of our money back.”

        Mr. Brinkman was upset the state's Department of Development approved the grant without approval of the legislature — a move allowable under Ohio law. He said tax dollars should never have been used in the Olympic effort.

        “This has been an extremely wasteful process,” Mr. Brinkman said. “We wasted much needed capital chasing something that was never going to happen. We could have solved some of our problems in the time we spent on this.”

        Cincinnati 2012, officially eliminated from the competition to host the Summer Games last Friday, raised more than $5.5 million in private donations. The state grants were the only public money given to the organization.

        The Ohio grant money had strings attached to it.

        A maximum of $50,000 could be used toward Mr. Vehr's salary; a maximum of $80,000 could be used toward the salary of two of his staffers — the directors of public relations and bid development.

        Other allowable expenses include promotion and advertising, the production of brochures and other written materials, and any expenses related to the United State Olympic Committee visit to Cincinnati this summer such as bus rental and hotel rooms for Cincinnati 2012 consultants.

        Marlo Tannous, chief legal counsel for the Ohio Department of Development, said the state will ask for any money left over after allowable expenses.

        “We do have that ability to ask for money back, and I assume we will,” she said.

        Unlike Ohio's, there were no strings attached to the $200,000 grant given by Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton's office. Rusty Cheuvront, the governor's press secretary, said they don't expect any of that cash back.

        “We understand there will be an accounting of the money spent,” Mr. Cheuvront said. “But we do not expect to get any of it back.”

        Cincinnati 2012 also received a pledge of up to $50,000 from a Northern Kentucky tourism fund, payable in monthly installments of $4,700. Mr. Vehr said Cincinnati 2012 received four such payments.

        Mr. Vehr said the organization's office on Fourth Street would close in about three weeks. He said the amount of cash on hand will barely cover the bills.

        “It will be close,” Mr. Vehr said. “But we have very carefully and responsibly managed our budget. We're now going through a close-down.

        “I know that often you get hit with expenses you didn't anticipate, and I want to make sure that doesn't happen to us.”

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