Audit throws spotlight on state tourism expenditures

Our current slogan is "Visit Nebraska. Visit Nice." but the Nebraska Tourism Commission is not so sure some of the agency's spending is "nice."

Meeting in one of the state's top attractions, the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, the commission went into a closed session Tuesday after reviewing an audit that disclosed a number of questionable expenses.

The audit showed the agency spent $44,000 for a 90-minute speech by a corporate executive, reimbursed a marketing firm for alcohol and cigarettes, paid $19,000 to move a commission employee from Sidney to Kearney and accepted meals from contractors.

The alcohol and cigarettes were part of one of the most glaring questions, a contractor hiring the daughter of the commission's director for a promotional photo shoot near Valentine. That project was intended to market the state to millennials, but the agency requested more than $5,200 in reimbursement for travel costs that weren't properly documented and $350 for alcohol and cigarettes, including bottles of wine, gin and Crown Royal Canadian whiskey.

The director says nothing illegal was done and the marketing firm has repaid all of the money that was not reimbursable under state rules. No one has pressured her to resign, she said.

The commission has set up a subcommittee to review the audit and make recommendations, and the state auditor has forwarded the findings to the state attorney general's office to see if any laws were violated.

It is expensive to conduct modern marketing campaigns, and Nebraska deserves professional representation in its bid for tourism dollars.

But government agencies at all levels need to remember that they're spending taxpayers' money, and even if something is technically legal, it needs to pass the "smell test."

"Nebraska Nice" is OK as a tourism slogan, but when it comes to public funding, a quote engraved on the Nebraska Capitol may be more appropriate: "The salvation of the state is the watchfulness of the citizens."Our current slogan is "Visit Nebraska. Visit Nice." but the Nebraska Tourism Commission is not so sure some of the agency's spending is "nice."

Meeting in one of the state's top attractions, the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, the commission went into a closed session Tuesday after reviewing an audit that disclosed a number of questionable expenses.

The audit showed the agency spent $44,000 for a 90-minute speech by a corporate executive, reimbursed a marketing firm for alcohol and cigarettes, paid $19,000 to move a commission employee from Sidney to Kearney and accepted meals from contractors.

The alcohol and cigarettes were part of one of the most glaring questions, a contractor hiring the daughter of the commission's director for a promotional photo shoot near Valentine. That project was intended to market the state to millennials, but the agency requested more than $5,200 in reimbursement for travel costs that weren't properly documented and $350 for alcohol and cigarettes, including bottles of wine, gin and Crown Royal Canadian whiskey.

The director says nothing illegal was done and the marketing firm has repaid all of the money that was not reimbursable under state rules. No one has pressured her to resign, she said.

The commission has set up a subcommittee to review the audit and make recommendations, and the state auditor has forwarded the findings to the state attorney general's office to see if any laws were violated.

It is expensive to conduct modern marketing campaigns, and Nebraska deserves professional representation in its bid for tourism dollars.

But government agencies at all levels need to remember that they're spending taxpayers' money, and even if something is technically legal, it needs to pass the "smell test."

"Nebraska Nice" is OK as a tourism slogan, but when it comes to public funding, a quote engraved on the Nebraska Capitol may be more appropriate: "The salvation of the state is the watchfulness of the citizens."