FORT WALTON BEACH — A majority of Okaloosa County commissioners voiced support Tuesday for Tax Collector Ben Anderson’s proposal to take over the collection of bed taxes from Clerk of Court Don Howard.
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The board voted 4-1 to hold a public hearing, most likely next month, on shifting the duties from Howard to Anderson by Oct. 1, which is the start of the 2014 fiscal year.
Commissioner Dave Parisot voted against the proposal.
The decision came after more than an hour of debate during which Anderson and Howard traded barbs and questioned each other’s professional credibility.
Anderson’s proposal was a direct response to the clerk of court’s role in processing the questionable purchases made by former tourism head Mark Bellinger. Anderson blamed Howard for the county’s financial losses resulting from Bellinger’s thefts and criticized the clerk for not discovering the fraud earlier.
“I am here today in response to the auditor general’s report. … Eighteen of 25 findings rest on the clerk of court,” Anderson said. “ … The spending was in the clerk’s hands.”
Howard vigorously defended his office. He told commissioners that what was supposed to be a discussion on the bed tax had turned into “a public flogging at the hands of Mr. Anderson.”
Howard said he and his staff could not have known what Bellinger was hiding on the carefully crafted invoices he submitted.
Parisot defended Howard, and said none of the auditor general’s 25 findings were related to the clerk of court’s collection of bed tax money.
He added that Anderson “had done some maligning of the clerk’s office” while making his case Tuesday.
Other commissioners said shifting bed tax collection makes sense.
“It’s a tax and the tax collector should collect it,” Commissioner Wayne Harris said.
He added that the move could be “part of the healing process” for Okaloosa County as it moves on from the “Bellinger debacle.”
Commissioner Nathan Boyles said giving bed tax collection to the tax collector will allow the clerk of court to have “laser focus” on documenting and accounting for the spending of Okaloosa’s bed tax money.
Anderson argued that Howard’s office should not be tasked with collecting and spending bed tax money.
“Do not let the same employees who receive the money spend the money. … You must have checks and balances in place,” he said.
Anderson told commissioners his office would do a better job of collecting bed taxes by placing more workers in the field. He said he has at least three employees he could put on the job immediately.
“We will establish a fair-share program,” Anderson said. “We will identify those people who aren’t paying and we will seek them out.”
He said Howard’s failure to have all of those businesses “on the books” costs the county millions of dollars each year.
Howard, who has only one employee devoted to the collection, enforcement and auditing of bed taxes, was skeptical of Anderson’s claims of increased collections.
“If he’s got people who are available and ready right now, then what are they doing right now?” he said. “ … I find that real interesting.”
Howard reminded commissioners that his office is responsible for processing and documenting county expenses, not determining what is spent. He said those two tasks are vastly different, and Anderson’s attempt to connect them was “about as disingenuous as anything I’ve ever seen.”
Howard also accused Anderson of targeting the bed tax collections for the 3 percent commission his office would earn on the revenues it processes.
“This is the first time I can ever remember one constitutional officer trying to take the duties of another constitutional officer,” he said. “It’s about the commission on the collections of the tax.”
Howard said Bellinger’s misuse of the clerk’s office and county funds doesn’t justify giving bed tax collection to Anderson. He urged the commissioners to shift the duties only if they have “a solid reason.”
He told commissioners he would respect the decision they eventually make.
“I’ve got responsibilities and I’m still going to be a team player, which a lot of other folks haven’t been,” Howard said.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.