Chamber launches once-controversial app amid contract negotiations with town
As a once controversial tourism app commissioned by the Hilton Head Island Bluffton Chamber of Commerce takes off this summer, town leaders are still crafting the details of a new contract to shine a light on chamber finances.
The $100,000 town-funded app came under fire during last fall's Hilton Head mayoral race, while chamber opponents lampooned its price tag -- initially $340,000 -- and the hiring of Canadian firm Verb Interactive for the app's development.
Although those objections didn't stop the app project, they were the beginning of still-increasing pressure on the chamber to be more transparent about how it spends public funds.
That pressure is culminating this summer with a Town Council effort to craft a first-of-its-kind contract between the town and chamber, its designated marketing organization.
The contract is likely to include standards drawn from the guidelines of Destination Marketing Association International, a group which oversees designated marketing organizations and of which the Hilton Head chamber is a member, council leaders said.
"From what we've been able to see, it seems DMAI is pretty much the gold standard," said Councilman Tom Lennox, who serves on the Finance and Administrative Committee crafting the contract.
DMAI lays out clear ethics and accounting guidelines that require line-item detail of each public dollar, according to Lennox and the group's website. The organization also has a return-on-investment formula that attempts to quantify how effective chamber efforts have been per dollar spent, which committee members also hope to incorporate into a contract, Lennox added.
"I want to make sure Hilton Head Island citizens are getting a good bang for their buck," Mayor David Bennett said. "Those DMAI standards are all relatively straight forward. Our object shouldn't just be to meet them, I think we ought to be exceeding them."
The chamber already meets those guidelines as part of its regular accreditation with DMAI, so they are a welcome part of a formal contract, chamber spokeswoman Charlie Clark said.
But committee members might also consider a type of outside oversight to double check the chamber's numbers -- an entirely new and potentially controversial requirement.
The Finance and Administrative Committee is discussing whether it wants to require some form of an "unqualified opinion" from an independent tax attorney or certified public accountant each year to certify the chamber is spending town tax dollars according to state law, Bennett and Lennox suggested.
Both declined to discuss the suggestion in further detail, citing ongoing contract negotiations, and Clark added that the chamber already submits to an audit each year as part of its nonprofit status.
The committee's ideas mirror that of long-time chamber opponent Skip Hoagland. He and business partner John Buchanan pushed the DMAI standards to town officials in emails this summer, and they have called for a strict independent forensic audit of the chamber, which chamber leaders have repeatedly refused.
Hoagland has led a behind-the-scenes campaign against the chamber, including an unsuccessful effort to start a rival organization. He claims the contract and audit will expose financial malfeasance by chamber administrators. He also is locked in a lawsuit with the chamber over organization records he argues should be public but the chamber has refused to release.
Town leaders insist their effort is independent of Hoagland and Buchanan's, which often has turned vitriolic in hundreds of emails to public officials.
"I don't worry about that," Bennett said this week. "I just wake up in the morning and try to do what's best for the citizens of this island."
There is no set deadline to complete a contract with the chamber, but it should be complete within the next two months, Bennett added.
Follow reporter Zach Murdock on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Zach and on Facebook at facebook.com/IPBGZach.
- Hilton Head leaders seek more details in chamber of commerce spending, June 20, 2015
- Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce faces tougher scrutiny, March 25, 2015
- Hilton Head Mayor compromises on delay of bed-tax vote, Dec. 5, 2014
- Chamber app emerges as flash point in Hilton Head mayoral race, Oct. 28, 2014
- Hilton Head chamber gets $100,000 from town for app; some question cost, Oct. 11, 2014
This story was originally published July 31, 2015 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Chamber launches once-controversial app amid contract negotiations with town."