After work tonight, nearly 2,000 Santa Fe city and county employees will be hustling to make it to their respective holiday parties, both of which are being held at 6 p.m. at the Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino

No doubt the government workers are looking forward to some dinner and dancing at the new casino.

But the choice of venue has raised eyebrows among some local politicians.

City Councilor Miguel Chavez announced in October that he'll stay away from this year's party because of the location.

"I thought we were supposed to be operating under this concept where we keep our money in the local economy," Chavez said.

City Councilor Chris Calvert said Thursday he won't attend either.

"Not only is it not local," Calvert said, "but it's a long way to drive for a lot of people, and this time of year it just doesn't seem like a good idea. I don't want to be out on the roads during this holiday season with possible bad weather, and I would have preferred a local venue."

Elected officials of Santa Fe County seemed less bothered by the Buffalo Thunder decision. Commissioner Kathy Holian said she plans to attend the county's party and said the issue of the venue never really crossed her mind.

"Last year it was at Camel Rock Casino, and I just sort of assumed that the reason it was at Buffalo Thunder was to handle the rather large number of people that are going," Holian said.

Both of the parties are organized and paid for by employee benefit committees made up of city and county employees who volunteer their time to organize seasonal celebrations for their co-workers.

Organizers from both committees said capacity and price were the main factors in their decisions about where to hold the fetes.

Leslie C De Baca, an administrative supervisor in the Water Division at the City of Santa Fe and vice president of the city's Employee Benefit Committee, said even considering the fact that the city would have gotten use of the ballroom at the convention center for free (because it is city-owned property), the cost to throw the party at Buffalo Thunder was still several thousand dollars less than it would have been at the convention center.

C De Baca said she couldn't remember the exact price difference Thursday, and that she didn't have time to look because she was busy handling last-minute details regarding the party.

Lynette Gallegos, a County Clerk's Office employee and treasurer for the county's Employee Benefit Committee, said the county committee also found prices at the convention center to be "outrageous."

Both parties will feature live bands, a cash bar and a meal of spinach salad, herb roasted chicken, roasted veggies and dessert. The casino is offering partygoers discounted rooms — $99 a night — and runs shuttles into Santa Fe for those who don't want to drink and drive.

The city's party for about 1,100 guests will cost about $25,000, C De Baca said. The tab for the county celebration will be about $19,000 for 600 guests.

Had the parties been held inside city limits — or even in the county on non-pueblo-owned property — together they would have generated several thousand dollars worth of gross receipts tax revenue for local government coffers. But because they are being held on property owned by the Pojoaque of Pueblo, they won't.

Party organizers point out that the parties are paid for with funds raised by the committees, both of which get a portion of that money from profit-sharing deals arranged with the owners of vending machines in city and county buildings.

The Santa Fe County committee also charges $10 per ticket for the party and raises money by renting out county-owned space around the County Administration Building on Grant Avenue during Indian Market.

Gallegos said the committee pays the county $1,000 to rent space under the portal and on the south side of the building. The committee in turn rents that space — the equivalent of 34 booths — to vendors for $450 each. Vendors who rent from the committee also get a parking space for the weekend in the county-owned lot behind the building.

County Manager Roman Abeyta said the arrangement was in place before he became county manager. He said employees at District Court up the street do the same thing.

Abeyta said he had never considered whether the proceeds from renting public space belong to taxpayers. But he said, "I think it's something that probably needs to be addressed."

Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya said he plans to attend the county's party and doesn't have a problem with the venue.

"People from the pueblos go to Santa Fe to buy their groceries and their clothes and everything else they need for their households, Montoya said. "Business is business, and I think we should patronize them and be as neighborly as possible."

Santa Fe Mayor David Coss — who will participate in an event to promote local spending Saturday — said he was "personally disappointed" about the location of the party.

"I think what it says is we need to work on some of the policies that are governing the civic center," Coss said. If price was the main factor, Coss said, that's something that should be examined.

Coss still plans to go to the party, though.

"I will go because I think it's important to address the employees and wish them a happy and safe holiday season," he said. "And I hope they come back home next year."

Contact Phaedra Haywood at 986-3068 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com.