Pullman City Council considered rejecting a nearly $2 million tourism proposal during the council’s budget meeting Tuesday night.

The Pullman Chamber of Commerce submitted the proposal, requesting a two-year contract for increased social media, event management, sponsorships and a marketing budget. The $1,918,065 in funding would help promote annual events, like the Lentil Festival and the Fourth of July, and implement this tourism strategy.

However, the tourism plan would only generate $1.2 million dollars in revenue, so approving it is not economically possible, said City Administrator Mike Urban.

Urban discussed five possible options for the fund, which that he created with Pullman’s city attorney, that could meet the need for the fund and the needs of Pullman. 

Option one would include reviewing the request for the proposal packet, making edits and reposting the request for proposal to get additional responses for expenses that would be at a lower rate than the one that was given to the chamber, he said. 

They could also work with a current provider on a contract expansion past the Dec. 31 end date, or have the City Staff do research and create an activity for the council based on their analysis, Urban said. 

Option four includes a solution the council would provide. The final option is a combination of all of the solutions into one, he said. 

Once a funding option is selected, their team will bring the solution back to the lodging tax committee, get their recommendation and then bring the proposal back to council for its approval, Urban said. 

City Staff recommended the council reject the bid, and Urban asked the council to reject it as well. 

Urban said the council could discuss the motion further at the next city council meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday.