As the Orange County Board confronted Visit Orlando about a critical audit, some Commissioners said they are alarmed by the tourism marketing association’s lobbying efforts and the millions of public dollars that auditors have said should be returned to public coffers due to years of misspending.

Assistant Comptroller Wendy Kittleson said Visit Orlando may have misspent an estimated $20 million dating back to 2019, as the organization misappropriated private funds and the proceeds from the tourist development tax ( TDT ), which is a 6% countywide hotel tax.

“Those TDT funds could help us reduce our bonds, could go to arts, could be reallocated for many things,” said Commissioner Mayra Uribe, reacting to the auditors’ update. “It’s $20 million, and it shouldn’t be taken ligh

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