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Organizers of the Charlotte Harbor Super Boat Grand Prix are already preparing for a second boat race. Charlotte County Commissioner Trish Duffy says there's just one big problem, they still owe 40 thousand dollars from this year's race.
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Charlotte Harbor Super Boat Grand Prix falls short in profit
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, FL -
It's an event that brings a massive amount of visitors and is supposed to bring in massive amounts of money to Charlotte County. But, a new 16-page audit by the county shows the Charlotte Harbor Super Boat Grand Prix fell short more than $54,000.
While that's a big loss of revenue, Charlotte County administrator Ray Sandrock says many still consider the event a success.
"I think when you're here, it was a positive for the county. It's looking at it from an economic perspective," said Sandrock.
According to the audit, the president of the Grand Prix submitted a profit and loss report to the county in June -- claiming a loss for more than $35,000.
"It was also an issue of some unpaid bills to public safety, particularly," said Sandrock.
The audit also shows the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office is still owed $19,000 for their services at the event. The Charlotte County Fire and EMS is also owed $4,000.
"Well, we had a total of one ambulance and one mobile rescue unit and a mobile command unit. So you're looking at about five people that were there from Fire and EMS," said Jason Fair, Charlotte County Fire and EMS chief.
The audit outlined several questionable expenses paid by organizers including pricey restaurant tabs and more than $300 of pet sitting.
The county put up more than $100,000 for the event to take place. Leaders say there are plenty of lessons to be learned before planning a future.
"It's about tracking your revenues and certain line items and your expenditures the same way. That's probably an area where this group fell short. Didn't have the expertise, I would say," said Sandrock.
The Charlotte County Board of Commissioners will hold a workshop on Tuesday to further discuss the results of the audit.
The organizers apparently haven't paid sales taxes, or the $10k deposit to SBI for the 2015 race even though the $180k provided by the county included that earmarked amount.