Dodge City ? There’s new life for the Dodge City museum celebrating Boot Hill, the Old West cemetery that was the final resting place of people said to have “died with their boots on.”

Jeff Thorpe, a member of the advisory board for the Boot Hill Museum, had said last week that the museum might have to close for good by the end of the month. The museum, started in 1947, has been struggling financially, with an average annual loss of more than $100,000 over the last seven years.

But the Dodge City and Ford County commissions rode to the rescue Monday, with a combined vote of 7-1 in favor of providing the museum a one-time payment of $275,000 from the city and county sales tax fund. Of the total, $145,000 must be used to retire debt, with the rest going for operating costs.

All five city commissioners supported the funding, which was opposed by one of the three county commissioners, John Swayze. After the meeting, though, Swayze said he supported Boot Hill.

Some commissioners said the city, county and the museum should come up with a long-term funding plan so the museum doesn’t have to keep begging for money.

Barry Metcalf, a longtime employee of Boot Hill Museum, stands behind the bar in the Long Branch Saloon, Friday afternoon in Dodge City. There's new life for the Dodge City museum celebrating Boot Hill, the Old West cemetery that was the final resting place of people said to have died

Thorpe said Monday that some people wondered if he had been bluffing when he talked about closing the museum.

“No, it’s not a bluff,” he said. “It’s true.”

Thorpe said the museum needs between $145,000 and $150,000 a year to stay open.

Earlier this year, the museum received a $200,000 loan from the sales tax fund to reduce debt and cover operating expenses for the summer tourist season.

Kim Goodnight, the county commission chairman, has proposed that the nonprofit museum receive $275,000 annually for the next five years, while also being required to have an audit and a five-year capital improvement plan.

Goodnight’s plan also called for designating the museum as part of the “Why Not Dodge” project, making it eligible for sales tax money.

Commissioners did not act on Goodnight’s recommendation.