Tourism dollars help to keep Cortez, gateway to Mesa Verde National Park, on its feet. In turn, those helping to bring tourists to town must show the receipts.
The Mesa Verde Country Visitor Information Bureau, a staple promoter of tourism for the city, was nearly fined $50,000 Tuesday evening after failing to submit financial audits that were due April 1. As a result, the bureau caused Cortez to push back its own audit deadline of June 30, clouding the necessary transparency of where money in the region goes.
“The circumstances have placed us, meaning the city of Cortez, in a very difficult situation, especially given our history,” Sanders said to City Council Tuesday night.
“Not only were we forced to seek an extension, but also it risks causing damage to the public trust over a circumstance we cannot control,” he said.
Mesa Verde Country operates the Colorado Welcome Center on Cortez’s Main Street. Under a contract with the city to use tax dollars for tourism promotion, Mesa Verde Country’s financial audit for 2024 must be included in Cortez’s as well.
About $300,000 from the Lodger’s Tax Fund are used by the bureau to keep tourism going, according to Cortez City Manager Drew Sanders.
Cortez’s latest financial report states that because of this arrangement, the city is financially responsibly for Mesa Verde Country too.
If the tourism bureau doesn’t keep tabs on where its money goes, Cortez falls on its state-mandated obligations to account for every penny spent.
Tensions lingered during Tuesday night’s meeting as city officials figured out whether or not to apply a $50,000 penalty toward Mesa Verde Country for missing its required deadline.
According to Sanders, previous “issues” with the bureau had caused the $50,000 fine to be written into a contract with the city, intended to keep Mesa Verde Country on a proper calendar.
That didn’t work this time, however.
Sanders went on to say that a repeated “lack of candor” from Mesa Verde Country Executive Director Brian Bartlett regarding the bureau’s missed April 1 deadline was concerning.
Mesa Verde Country will now need to submit their audit on July 31 at the very latest, allowing the city to meet its own now-extended financial audit deadline of Sept. 30, Sanders said.
“This has caused an absolute ripple effect,” he said.
Sanders said the delay had resulted in lost staff hours and misspent taxpayer dollars that could have been better spent.
With Mesa Verde Country mere days away from its new deadline, Sanders told Mayor Rachel Medina that the were “very concerned.”
But city officials took time to think through whether a fine was the right approach.
Mesa Verde Country’s executive director apologizes
“What I'm here to tell you tonight is that the audit is almost complete,” Brian Bartlett, Mesa Verde Country executive director, told City Council.
The city can anticipate having the audit within 72 hours, he said.
“I apologize to everyone in the room for this, and I can promise you this will never happen again, no matter what the outcome is from tonight’s proceedings,” Bartlett said.
Bartlett attributed the delay to a medical issue that he addressed.
Other confusions also emerged during the meeting with regards to how updated the city’s contract was with the tourism bureau.
After entering into an executive session to get legal counsel on the matter, City Council members returned and voted unanimously to hold off on the penalty and wait for the audits to be submitted.
“If they haven’t by then, then we’ll discuss the penalty,” Medina said.
