Proposed chamber merger down to three
EL CENTRO – The idea of consolidating the various municipal chambers of commerce into a single regional body still has life, but it also has fewer interested parties.
On Thursday, the Brawley Chamber of Commerce became the second original member of the Imperial Valley Regional Chamber Committee to back out of a proposed merger announced earlier this year. Previously, the Holtville Chamber of Commerce decided it want to continue to operate independently.
In a letter to members, Brawley Chamber of Commerce CEO Katie Luna noted her group has participated in the committee’s exploration of merging multiple chambers for the past year and a half.
“This exploration has given us the opportunity to weigh the pros and cons of joining four chambers together,” she wrote.
She said that on Monday, the board of directors met and discussed the regional model in light of the Brawley Chamber’s fiduciary responsibility to its members.
“We agreed that a regional model would be beneficial to our members and would support the business community with a strong collective voice,” Luna said. “However, the financial picture of merging chambers does not provide convincing information or definitive indicators that a regional chamber is a viable financial proposition for us at this time.”
She explained that an analytical projection for the first year and a half of the regional model clearly indicated an operational deficit. She said this would subsequently exhaust almost the entire amount of combined reserves available.
“In addition to the financial loss we would incur, the prospects of resuming pre-COVID event activities is dismal, making future income even more uncertain for the region,” she said.
“Currently, we know that the Brawley Chamber financial position is strong and conducive to a lean, yet, successful path forward,” Luna continued. “Despite COVID-related challenges, we continue to see our membership steadily increase, adding 21 new members so far this year. While we were unable to host traditional Cattle Call activities, we have managed to increase our income and reduce the expenses of our overall operations.”
Bari Smith, who is president of the Westmorland Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Regional Chamber Committee, said Brawley’s participation is not essential to the success of a regional chamber.
She said El Centro, Westmorland and Imperial representatives met Thursday and discussed optimistically the prospect of a three-chamber merger.
“However, our three chambers are in agreement (as we have been from day one) that this should be member driven and our members should be included in the decision,” she added. “We will be sending a ballot out to each of our respective members next week to hear whether they are or are not in favor of regionalizing. After that point our three chamber boards will make a final decision.”
The idea of forming a regional chamber of commerce in the Imperial Valley has been batted around for years. However, the discussion became more formalized with the creation of the regionalization committee.
The model that has served as the committee’s inspiration is the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce, which was formed in 2016. Initially it consisted of only a few chambers, but it has continued to grow and is now made up of 10 chambers.
“Over the course of two different workshops with their CEO we were very impressed by their growth in revenue, sponsorship and member benefits they now offer since becoming a regional chamber,” Smith said in February. “GCVCC has dedicated staff for areas such as business development, events and governmental affairs, to name a few. As a regional chamber, they now hold over 250 events each year.”
On Friday, Smith acknowledged the unprecedented hardships COVID-19 has wreaked on the Imperial Valley business community this year. “We feel a regional chamber is a fantastic opportunity to work together to reduce operational costs while offering more benefits, greater resources, and increased advocacy to our members,” she said.
Smith said the committee hopes to have a final decision on whether the Westmorland, Imperial and El Centro chambers will merge by year’s end.
Meanwhile, Luna said the Brawley Chamber has not ruled out the possibility of revisiting a merger in the future. “We understand that business operates without borders, and we understand the need for a strong collective voice in our valley,” she wrote. “Our commitment to the regionalization committee and Brawley Chamber members is that, if there is resolution to the financial disparities of this merge, we will be happy to re- visit the model again. In the interim, we will continue forward, paving way for more meaningful dialogue and increased opportunities throughout our region.”