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ATTLEBORO - The mayors of Bristol County are looking for cash and contact from the regional tourism bureau that apparently has ignored their cities for years.

Mayor Kevin Dumas has joined forces with New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang, Fall River Mayor Robert Correia and Taunton Mayor Charles Crowley in an effort to get some money this year and an active role in deciding how to use state dollars to promote the region next year.

Led by Lang, the mayors signed a letter making the request to the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, which doles out about $9 million a year to regional tourism offices, including $378,000 to the Southeastern Massachusetts Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is supposed to serve Bristol County's four cities and the region.

Dumas said it wasn't until the mayors talked to each other that they realized spending and planning at the New Bedford-based regional bureau has gone awry.

"We're supposed to have a say in regional tourism, and for more than three years none of us have been contacted," Dumas said. The bureau has generated pamphlets it gives out at highway stops, but the effort has been ineffective, at best, and a waste of money, at worst, Dumas said.

He said the goal of the mayors is to get direct state funding for each city this year and then work out a plan for next year and beyond.

"We're looking for $70,000 for each of our cities," Dumas said. "Then next year, once we get this straightened out and we have a say in it, we'll work collaboratively."

Dumas said the money could be used for an event that would bring people to the city.

The mayors contend the bureau has not only failed to include their cities in planning, but has submitted subpar grant applications to the state, missing out on a chance for hundreds of thousands of dollars in available cash.

Lang told The Standard Times of New Bedford that participation of the cities is key to the successful promotion of tourism, an important part of the regional economy.

Tourism can help "fuel the cities," he told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, bureau Director Arthur Motta, who replaced fired Director Sheila Martines-Pina last year, said he's committed to resolving the problems and is in favor of funding cities directly, if possible under the law.

"I'm looking forward to working more closely with the mayors and addressing their concerns," he told The Sun Chronicle. "Working more closely with the mayors will make our job more effective."

Doling cash directly to the cities is a good idea, Motta said, but he's not sure whether it can be done. "If there's a way that it can be done, we'll attempt to do that," he said. "It's a matter of what the statute says."