Council approves nine event requests amid tight $150K budget
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
The Gallup City Council reviewed Lodger’s Tax grant requests for the first time since adopting the program’s new regulations on May 12.
The council previously established these guidelines in October, capping event awards at $40,000 or 25% of the overall event expenditures, whichever is less.
Further, the new rules limit an organizer’s profit to a maximum of 10%. Under these parameters, organizers can use city funding for photography, event video, a one-time website design fee, and bona fide marketing strategies — such as print, digital, social media, radio, and newspaper advertising — outside Gallup and McKinley County.
Additionally, venue costs can consume up to 40% of the grant request. But, the city only reimburses organizers after their events.
With these strict guidelines in mind, Gallup’s Tourism and Marketing Manager Matt Robinson previously warned the council that his department faces a tight budget for Fiscal Year 2027. He expects the Lodger’s Tax to generate only $1.3 million in revenue during FY27, with expenditures consuming $600,000 of that amount.
Robinson emphasized the tight budget, noting that the fund holds just $150,000 for the current application round.
How much Lodger’s Tax funding each event received
Consequently, the Lodger’s Tax program must once again strike a delicate balance: keeping organizers happy by supporting beloved community events while simultaneously avoiding a budget deficit.
During their April 27 meeting, the Lodger’s Tax Committee reviewed and approved nine local events. The May 12 meeting then gave the city council a chance to provide final oversight and either approve or alter those committee decisions. In accordance with the new guidelines, the council evaluated each event one by one.
104TH GALLUP INTER-TRIBAL INDIAN CEREMONIAL
The 104th Annual Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial will be held from July 31 to Aug. 9.
The event’s Board President Kyle Tom initially requested over $50,000 for the event. In his application, he noted that the Ceremonial costs almost $809,000 to stage, against an anticipated revenue of $555,000.
Because the requested $50,000 violated the new Lodger’s Tax guidelines, the Committee instead recommended a $30,000 grant — a modest 3.7% of the event’s total budget.
During the May 12 meeting, however, Mayor Marc DePauli suggested increasing the funding to $40,000.
Councilors Sarah Piano, Dist. 3, and Sierra Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu, Dist. 2, voted “no” on DePauli’s suggestion. Nevertheless, DePauli and Councilors Linda Garcia, Dist. 1, and Ron Molina, Dist. 4, voted yes, ultimately overriding the Lodger’s Tax Committee.
LION’S CLUB RODEO AND DOWNTOWN BBQ
The Lion’s Club of Gallup will host a rodeo and downtown BBQ celebration in June. The group initially submitted two separate applications for the events, for a combined total request of $38,000.
In their paperwork, organizers projected $242,000 in expenditures against $35,000 in revenue for the rodeo. For the BBQ, they projected $8,000 in expenditures and $3,500 in revenue. Notably, the Lion’s Club’s initial request for the BBQ would have completely covered their costs.
While the Lodger’s Tax Committee originally approved a combined $20,000 for both events, Robinson said he would actually recommend $34,000 — $4,000 for the BBQ and $30,000 for the rodeo.
The Lion Club’s Rodeo Chair Ed Dearmond addressed the council to justify the higher amount, explaining that marketing outside Gallup and McKinley County requires a $26,000 advertising budget. He also noted that renting Red Rock Park costs $10,000 per day.
While most council members supported giving either $34,000 or $38,000, Yazzie advocated for sticking with the committee’s recommended $20,000.
“I know it’s less than what everybody wants, but if the money isn’t there, then it’s not there,” she said. “And if we give everybody more money than what the committee recommended to us, we’re just going to dig an even bigger hole for ourselves.”
Despite her objections, the council ultimately voted to award the Lion’s Club $34,000.
ROUTE 66 DESERT CHALLENGE
In contrast to the debated requests, the next application passed without conflict. The Red Rock Motorsports Club, Inc. will host the Route 66 Desert Challenge from July 24-26. For the 2026 event, organizers anticipate $14,000 in expenditures and $6,000 in revenue.
They requested $3,150 in grant funding, which the Lodger’s Tax Committee approved. The council seamlessly ratified the $3,150 reimbursement.
TDFL
The mood shifted back to debate when the council reviewed the Tony Dorsett Touchdown Youth Football League’s application for the 16th Annual Sammy Chioda Four Corners Invitational Youth Football Championship on Nov. 7-8.
The organization projected that the event would cost about $45,000 to host and bring in $20,000 in revenue. They requested $19,300 in grant funding, and the Lodger’s Tax Committee recommended funding the full amount.
However, Mayor DePauli threw a curveball during the meeting, claiming that the new guidelines actually made TDFL eligible for $20,750. But, based on the 25% expenditure cap, TDFL is eligible for a maximum of $11,250.
Piano voiced concern over the mayor’s willingness to earmark funds that exceed an organization’s requested amount. TDFL asked for $19,000 compared to DePauli’s suggestion of $20,750.
“You’re being so nice, but you’re approving more than the organization even requested,” Piano said. “We’re trying to cut costs, not just give free money. We’re not Oprah.”
The council approved the committee’s allocation of $19,300 for TDFL.
ARENACROSS & MUD BOG SHOW
Next, Finish Line Promotions sought funding for the Parnall Law Xtreme Arenacross & Mud Bog Show, scheduled for June 12-13 at Red Rock Park.
For the 2026 event, the organization projected $130,000 in revenue and just over $120,000 in expenditures. They requested just over $31,000 in Lodger’s Tax funding — a sizable increase from the $5,000 they received in 2025. Under the new guidelines, their maximum eligibility capped out at $30,000.
The Lodger’s Tax Committee, taking past performance into consideration, recommended only $3,600.
Event coordinator Andrew Gallegos defended his request, arguing that the event brings “heads in beds” — the ultimate goal of the Lodger’s Tax. He explained that out-of-town racers typically bring three guests with them to stay in local hotels on average. He added that high national gas prices might also encourage more regional racers to stay overnight this year.
This year the event is expanding from a one to a two day show, with an estimated attendance of over 5,000 people.
Piano pointed out that this attendance projection fell below many other local events, justifying a lower award.
Robinson added that while he couldn’t necessarily speak for the Lodger’s Tax Committee, he did say that one of the committee members voiced concern about wanting to keep other events as whole as possible. Robinson said the committee took past performance into consideration.
Gallegos countered that late grant approval in April of last year had severely limited their advertising window for the May event.
Ultimately, the council sided with the committee and approved the $3,600 recommendation.
ROUTE 66 ROPING
The council found quick consensus on the next agenda item. Organizer Walt Eddy projected that the June 28 Route 66 Roping event would cost $31,500 to stage and bring in $35,000 in revenue.
Eddy requested $3,000, noting that he stayed strictly within the guidelines by only asking for marketing reimbursements and the $10,000 Red Rock Park venue rental fee. The council agreed with the committee and fully approved the $3,000 request.
SOUNDWAY FESTIVAL
A brand-new event sparked the night’s longest debate. The co-owners of Call Me Crazy Dispensary, LLC plan to introduce the Soundwave Festival to the Gallup area. While business owner Mikkiee Manning couldn’t attend the council meeting, Ed Dearmond spoke on her behalf, recalling her vision from the April 27 committee meeting.
Dearmond explained that Manning wants Soundwave to become “Gallup’s Coachella,” bringing a diverse lineup of musical genres to Red Rock Park for a two-day festival on the last weekend of July. Manning’s proposal anticipated 30 volunteers, over 2,000 attendees, $55,000 in revenue, and over $184,000 in expenditures.
Manning asked for nearly $34,000, but the Lodger’s Tax Committee approved $3,600.
Councilor Piano fiercely defended the newcomer, arguing that the city fails to foster growth when it underfunds new ideas.
“Every rodeo that started 20-30 years ago was a shot in the dark at that time, and then they did great,” Piano said. “We’re basically saying we don’t want to help them as much because we don’t know them and we don’t know if they’re going to do good work. The whole point of Lodger’s Tax is to get events started and to get them going.”
Councilor Yazzie agreed, suggesting alongside Piano that the city increase the funding to $10,000 to attract a different crowd to the community.
“I think music festivals are a really great way for people to come into the community, maybe a different crowd than we normally attract with our big events,” Yazzie said. “Hopefully it’s something that could get going over time.”
Councilor Molina strongly disagreed, reiterating that the unproven festival remained an expensive “shot in the dark.”
As the debate continued, Robinson noted that Manning had not yet formally booked Red Rock Park. He admitted that current regulations do not require applicants to secure a venue before applying.
A portion of the Lodger’s Tax program’s new guidelines, Robinson said, requires that established event organizers must provide financial information from previous events. One applicant reportedly provided their financial information this year, but Robinson didn’t name the event organizer.
“Given this is the first year [with the new regulations], I’m trying to be flexible with people, so I didn’t want to hold them to that because I know that’s a lot of work, the accounting, pulling the paperwork, all that,” Robinson said.
Because the Lodger’s Tax program operates strictly on a reimbursement basis, Piano reminded the council that fiscal risk was minimal. If CMC failed to host the event, the city simply would not pay out any money.
“There’s no harm [in saying we’ll give them more money] because if they end up not doing the event, they don’t do it,” she said.
Molina initially suggested cutting the funding to $3,000, proposing that the city could offer more in 2027 after seeing actual results. Ultimately, Piano secured a $5,000 compromise. When the council voted, Mayor DePauli cast the lone dissenting vote.
WILDTHING CHAMPIONSHIP BULL RIDING
The council closed the session by reviewing one of the city’s most established applicant. WildThing Championship Bull Riding has operated in Gallup for 33 years, serving as the top fundraiser for the Manuelito Children’s Home for 25 of those years.
Organizer Larry Peterson estimated that the July 10-11 event — recognized as the Southwest’s top open bull riding competition — costs about $200,000 to stage, with projected revenues between $125,000 and $225,000.
He requested nearly $53,000 in Lodger’s Tax funding. This is about 26.5% of his total budget, which is technically against the guidelines.
The Lodger’s Tax Committee recommended that the city earmark $20,000 for the event. After a brief discussion, the council increased the amount to $40,000.
During the council’s vote, Piano reminded Peterson that he cannot use Lodger’s Tax funds for promotional giveaway merchandise such as belt buckles or frisbees, which he included in his budget breakdown.
Peterson conceded that dropping from $52,000 to $40,000 effectively eliminated his merchandise budget anyway.
By the end of the night, the council had overridden five of the Lodger’s Tax Committee’s recommendations. In doing so, they distributed over $148,000 of the available $150,000 budget.
Event organizers seeking funding for late 2026 or early 2027 events must submit their applications to the city by September before the Lodger’s Tax Committee conducts its next review cycle in October.
