Dallas city officials put a final price tag on hosting the Republican National Convention at $804,229.46, a bill the city has absorbed in its own budget with no reimbursement from organizers two months after the event wrapped. Now four Dallas City Council members are demanding an audit to find out who, if anyone, is on the hook to pay it back.
Council members Paul Ridley, Adam Bazaldua, Paula Blackmon and Bill Roth requested the audit into the city's handling of the convention's public-safety expenses, according to The Dallas Morning News. The council members asked the city auditor to determine who is responsible for ensuring Dallas gets reimbursed, and who authorized a special event permit for the two-day gathering without collecting an upfront deposit to cover extra public-safety costs. Dallas Police and Fire-Rescue together incurred more than $800,000 in costs tied to the convention, per the same reporting.
The final figure came in well under earlier projections. A city memorandum dated October 26 put total convention-related costs at $804,229.46, calling the sum substantially lower than preliminary planning estimates discussed with the Finance Committee in August, according to a City of Dallas memorandum. That September 3 memo had estimated roughly $1.8 million for Dallas Police alone, plus $200,000 for Fire-Rescue and $25,000 each for emergency management and transportation and public works — though the city cautioned at the time that those were only planning estimates, not final costs. NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth had reported that early estimate of $1.8 million for police costs before the final police tally came in at $661,335.11.
City Says Budget Already Covered Most of the Cost
City officials said the overwhelming majority of the expenses were on-duty personnel costs already accounted for within adopted departmental budgets, according to the city memo. Dallas council members said the city had received no money for convention spending, and officials have said they still intend to recoup the expenses. Dallas issued a special event permit to manage street closures and traffic for the two-day event, which took place in September, and American Airlines Center — a city-owned facility that books its own events — hosted the gathering itself.
Council members also asked whether the city received any direct revenue from permitting the arena's use, and whether safeguards should be put in place to guarantee full reimbursement for future events with heavy public-safety demands. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson said events using city facilities should come with a deposit and payment, according to reporting from last month. A council memo similarly argued the city should have secured financial guarantees in advance to cover anticipated costs and any later collection efforts.
Reimbursement Talks Still Unresolved
City staff said they were working with Visit Dallas and the Local RNC Host Committee on cost-recovery options, and that those discussions remained ongoing as of the October 26 memo. Dallas plans to first pursue a contractual reimbursement from U.S. Capitol Police, which has an existing agreement with Dallas Police covering certain eligible law-enforcement expenses, before invoicing either the RNC or the host committee — whichever ultimately pays the bill — according to KERA. City officials have also said they intend to pursue a Department of Justice grant to cover expenses incurred outside the arena.
As of KERA's late-October report, the Republican National Committee had not reimbursed the city, and it remained unclear whether it would. The Dallas 2026 Host Committee raised at least $45 million to support the convention, the station reported, though how much of that money would go toward city costs — or whether any formal agreement exists — was not specified.
The private host committee has promised to help defray the city's expenses but has not specified how much it would contribute or which costs it would cover, per the Dallas Morning News report. Host committee spokesperson Rick Gorka said all bills will be paid and that officials in charge remain in regular communication with the host committee and the convention team, but he did not disclose how much the committee is reimbursing. Gorka also pushed back on the council members pressing for answers, characterizing them as “lobbing grenades from the sidelines.”
Council members were concerned that two months after the convention, no reimbursements had been finalized — a gap that is now at the center of the requested audit into how Dallas managed the bill from the start.
