Taos County approves $649,918 in Lodgers Tax awards after board scales requests

Dylan Cox presented the Lodgers Tax Advisory Board's recommendations: from 54 initial applications, 47 are recommended for awards with total requests of about $971,326.22 and recommended funding of $649,918. Cox said the board used a percentage-based scoring rubric to scale awards and noted the county increased the budget allocation for this round from $600,000 to $650,000 to accommodate more grants.

Commissioners asked how the awards were scaled and whether grantees are monitored. Cox explained the scoring rubric: applicants with average scores between 31% and 89% receive that percentage of their requested amount; the board also requires final reports from grantees and vets reimbursement requests for eligibility. Staff noted a single-application cap of $59,999 to avoid triggering a separate procurement process.

Commissioner Romero disclosed he serves on the board of one grantee but said he would not personally benefit; he voted in favor along with all commissioners, and the commission approved the recommendations unanimously. Commissioners discussed refining the scoring rubric for future rounds to better align funding with demonstrated outcomes.

The commission recorded approval of the Lodgers Tax funding recommendations and directed staff to continue tracking grantee final reports and eligibility checks.