THOUSAND OAKS : City Contribution to Chamber Debated

In the last six months, staff members at the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce spent 56 hours preparing information about Thousand Oaks apartment vacancies.

They also took 27 hours to discuss the city’s hotels with potential visitors. And they devoted 25 hours to helping senior citizens find services.

For all that work, they expect to be paid. By Thousand Oaks taxpayers.

Most of the chamber’s $1-million annual budget comes from membership dues. But for more than a decade, the city has offered its own contribution, to help pay for public service work such as compiling city data and logging consumer complaints.

This year, city officials have proposed paying the chamber $19,000.

But when the payment came up for a vote this week, Councilwomen Elois Zeanah and Jaime Zukowski balked. Suggesting that the chamber’s work could be performed just as effectively in-house, they urged city staff to consider taking on more public service duties.

Staff members will write a memo on the issue and report back to the council within the next few weeks.

In the meantime, Chamber Executive Director Steve Rubenstein is furious. He said he views the city contribution as a symbol of support for the local business community and the Chamber of Commerce.

“For all we do,” he said, “I guess we’re unappreciated.”