Iowa Administrative Code
Agency 261 - Economic Development Authority
Part III - Community Development Division
Chapter 42 - Iowa Tourism Grant Program
Rule 261-42.6 - Expenses, Records, and Reimbursements

(1) General. Each grantee shall at all times incur expenses and be reimbursed for such expenses by the authority only as described in this chapter or in a contract executed hereunder. The authority may deny reimbursement for any expenditure not directly related to the implementation of a tourism-related marketing initiative, meeting, or event.

(2) Eligible expenses. Only expenditures directly related to the implementation of a tourism-related marketing initiative, meeting, or event will be reimbursed under the program. Examples of eligible expenses include the following:

(3) Ineligible expenses. Expenses that are not directly related to the implementation of a tourism-related marketing initiative, meeting, or event will be deemed ineligible. Ineligible expenses include but are not limited to vertical infrastructure; staff salaries and wages; equipment and software; solicitation efforts; lobbying fees; items that are purchased for resale; prizes given to participants or event/festival attendees; alcoholic beverages; internships; all travel, meal and lodging costs of applicant staff or the applicant's contractor; projects that receive funding from the authority's regional sports authority district program; marketing programs already subsidized by the authority including, but not limited to, advertising in the Iowa travel guide or participation in the cooperative partnership program; or a project of an Iowa tourism region.

(4) Required records and reimbursements. A grantee shall submit any records requested by the authority as documentation of the expenditures incurred for implementation of the project. Such records may include invoices, original receipts, or check copies. If a grantee pays an expense using a credit card, the grantee shall submit a copy of a check register or bank statement indicating that the credit card invoice was paid. The authority will not reimburse expenses included on a nonitemized receipt.

(5) Repayments of certain funds. If the authority reimburses a grantee for the cost of a refundable bid fee and the grantee is unsuccessful in the effort to win the right to hold that event, then the grantee shall return the amount of such reimbursement to the authority.

(6) Reallocation of funds. If, at the time of a grantee's final reporting of expenses, the grantee cannot adequately document eligible expenses or documents an amount that is less than the awarded amount, the authority may award additional funds to other grantees, open additional rounds of applications, or revert the moneys to the general fund. If the authority awards additional funds to other grantees, such grantees shall submit documentation establishing how such funds will be expended, and the authority will execute contract amendments providing for the expenditure of the additional funds.