Clovis lodgers-tax committee recommends $75,000 for five local events, sends allocations to city commission

The City of Clovis Lodgers Tax committee on Sept. 9 recommended distributing $75,000 in promotional funds to five local events and initiatives, sending the package to the City Commission for final approval on Sept. 11.

A finance update given at the meeting showed the lodgers-tax promotional account is running above the budgeted receipts for the first two months of the fiscal year. “Our actual two months received is about $59,000,” said Mr. Hohwalt, the city finance staff member who briefed the committee, noting that the budget had anticipated about $48,000 for the same period, a positive variance of roughly $11,000. Hohwalt said the city’s available distribution for the year was about $363,000 and that prior allocations and requests leave the committee with roughly $283,000 available for the rest of the fiscal year before the evening’s decisions.

Why it matters: Lodgers-tax (hotel-occupancy tax) funding supports events that attract out-of-town visitors and generate hotel room nights and other local economic activity. The committee allocates promotional funds based on applications and estimated visitor impact.

Committee action and amounts - Mexico Rodeo Association finals (applicant: Justin Wilson): recommended $15,000. Wilson described the finals as a long-running, family-oriented rodeo and said out-of-state participants often arrive a day or two early. He said the group hoped lodgers-tax funding could be used to lower admission barriers and increase attendance. - New Mexico Cup (applicant: New Mexico Cup LLC): recommended $20,000 (moved from an initial $15,000 discussion point to $20,000 during allocation discussion). Committee members said the soccer tournament drew teams from across the U.S. during past events and booked multiple nights in local hotels; an applicant said prior editions included as many as 52 teams and organizers hope to expand to 76 teams. - Clovis Music Festival (organizers represented by Ernie, Kim, Robin and Sherry): recommended $20,000 with a caveat that the festival is scheduled for April and the organizers should return to the committee if they need further funding later in the budget year. Sherry told the committee that digital advertising reach for the prior event put their content in front of more than 1 million people, and that about 1,008,970 of those were non-followers. - Community profile / membership directory (Clovis Chamber of Commerce, representative Kim): recommended $5,000. The chamber said it distributes printed community profiles to incoming groups and at outreach events and that recent weekly distribution volumes had been high. - Professional Armed Forces Rodeo (PAFRA) World Finals (applicant: Casey Messick): recommended $15,000. Messick said the event averages about 300 room nights and that the organization is marking its 25th anniversary, which organizers expect to use in promotion to draw alumni and out-of-area attendees.

The committee discussed how to divide limited funds and the tradeoffs between sustaining longstanding events and supporting newer events that may bring visitors. Several members said they expect to review midyear revenues before making any upward adjustments. The group voted to approve the committee’s recommendations and forward them to the City Commission for final action; the motion passed (exact vote tally not specified in the transcript). The committee chair noted the commission is scheduled to consider the recommendations at its Sept. 11 meeting.

Budget context and next steps Mr. Hohwalt told the committee that last month’s allocations totaled $80,000 and that, if all requests on the Sept. 9 agenda were fully funded, the remaining available balance for the fiscal year would be about $154,000. Committee members said the Chamber and the music festival could return later if additional funds become available. The committee also discussed moving its next application deadline to Nov. 12 and holding the next lodgers-tax meeting on Nov. 18 to avoid the Nov. 11 Veterans Day holiday.

Quotes from applicants and staff are drawn from the meeting transcript. The committee’s recommended allocations will be considered by the City Commission on Sept. 11; the commission must take final action to make the awards official.