PORT HUENEME : Council Delays Vote on Chamber Bailout

The Port Hueneme City Council delayed action Wednesday night on a $15,000 bailout requested by the city’s Chamber Of Commerce to carry it through the rest of the year.

City Manager Dick Velthoen recommended that the council withhold any subsidy until the chamber provides its spending and income figures for the year and its strategy to attract members.

The chamber needs to offset a shortfall of $15,000 in its $51,633 budget caused by the recession, poor fund-raising and a drop in membership from 350 to 250 since December, President Sue Walea said.

Pat Zanuzoski, the chamber’s executive director, said many small businesses let their memberships lapse because of declining business prospects and a jump in annual fees from $40 to $100 last year.

Zanuzoski said that despite the increase, the chamber charges the lowest fee of any chamber in Ventura County, while getting by with scant city subsidies.

In comparison, she said, the chambers in Moorpark, Camarillo and Thousand Oaks get between $12,000 and $19,000 annually from the cities for serving as convention and visitors bureaus. The Port Hueneme chamber gets free office space in the city’s museum and $3,600 a year for the building’s upkeep.

“Going to the city for funds wasn’t our first choice, but we do a lot of promotion for the city,” said Walea, whose organization now represents about 17% of the city’s 1,500 licensed businesses. “We are not looking for ongoing support.”