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Chamber working to end money troubles
By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
PINELLAS PARK -- Like the city government here, the Chamber of Commerce is short on cash. What's unclear, said Pinellas Park/Mid-County Chamber of Commerce president Bill DeLong, is just how short the chamber is. Until recently, none of its records were on computer. The chamber claimed 650 members, but now it appears only 400 were paid in full. With minimum membership dues of $200 a year, the loss of 250 members really hurt, conceded DeLong, who said the trouble is still being sorted out. As yet, he doesn't have current membership numbers or a precise accounting of the shortfall. "It's been a rough year. Absolutely, it's been a rough year, but dollarwise, we're doing better every day." The chamber's first step toward recovery, DeLong said, is to revamp its policies about nonpayment of annual membership fees and reduce other fees to encourage more small businesses to join. The chamber's financial troubles came to light during a City Council workshop last week. Mayor Bill Mischler said he was upset with the group's handling of the 5-month-old business assistance program. Designed to help city businesses that are having troubles, the assistance program is a three-way agreement among the chamber, the city and Pinellas County, with each entity paying one-third of the $45,000 annual cost for an administrator. Mischler said only the county and city were contributing their share, meaning Jeffrey Girard was making $30,000 a year rather than $45,000. DeLong denied the chamber had reneged on its part of the deal: "To begin with, Bill (Mischler) doesn't know what the hell he's talking about." The $45,000 is the total package, DeLong said. The chamber pays a small part of Girard's salary but also pays working expenses and provides office space, phones, car allowance and other costs. There was some confusion, DeLong said, because the contract had to be rewritten. DeLong said the county distributed a copy of a contract with incorrect figures. The existing contract has accurate numbers, he said. "This whole thing got screwed up and Bill got excited. I guess he still hasn't figured it out," DeLong said. "He went ballistic. ... Somehow he's got it in his mind that we're not paying our fair share. We are paying our fair share." Girard, the business assistance specialist, agreed the chamber is doing its part. The chamber contributes $1,200 to his $31,200 annual pay and shoulders other costs to make up its $15,000 share. "Actually, I am paid exactly what I was contracted for," Girard said. DeLong said the chamber's poor cash flow hurt no programs because most projects are self-funded or run by volunteers. The chamber's budget goes mainly for office staff and newsletters. Rita Bott, the chamber's former executive director who left earlier this year in part because the chamber was unable to offer adequate health coverage and other benefits, said she was not surprised by the news of financial difficulties. Sept. 11 hurt a lot of businesses, she said. Some folks simply cut back on chamber membership because it was nonessential. "Let's face it," Bott said. "funding of the chamber is an optional thing. We're not going to cut your lights off if you don't pay." Others whose business was hurt simply couldn't afford the dues and asked for leniency, which Bott said she granted. It's unfair to ax a longtime member because the business was unable to pay dues for a while. Besides, she said, the Pinellas Park chamber, like most others, has an unadvertised sliding scale for memberships. If someone really wanted to join but could not afford the $200, the chamber lowered the rate. The real problem, Bott said, is the board's reluctance to be aggressive in recruiting members. "Every chamber that does well has a leadership -- the board of directors -- that gets behind a membership drive," she said. DeLong said the desire to increase membership is behind the official decision to lower membership fees -- for at least a year. One-person businesses will pay only $50. Other small firms will pay $100. "We're going to be looking pretty when we move into the new building," DeLong said. The city is building a faux train station on Park Boulevard at the railroad track, the site of the old chamber. The new headquarters will house the chamber and the Pinellas Park Art and Historical societies as well as city offices. Groundbreaking is expected in January, he said, with occupancy about a year later. The Park Station project is going forward despite a Council-imposed freeze on hiring and construction. Council members are trying to stave off a projected shortfall of about $1.1-million in the 2003-04 budget year caused by lower than expected revenues and increasing costs. A little historyThe Pinellas Park/Mid-County Chamber of Commerce and the city both were born in 1912. The chamber then was known as the Board of Trade and was completely financed by the Pinellas Park government, which used occupational license fees to support the trade board. That arrangement lasted until about 1976.
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