SELMA – The Selma City Council revisited its relationship with the Selma District Chamber of Commerce after the city and the chamber failed to reach a contract agreement favorable to both parties last year.
The Selma City Council on Feb. 18 unanimously directed the city attorney to generate a new contract between the city and the Selma District Chamber of Commerce that outlines most of the same terms as the previous agreement. Although the city included funding for the chamber in its fiscal year 2024-25 budget, no contract has been in place since last summer and so the city has not provided funding to the chamber.
“Staff is still of the opinion that the chamber could potentially request more from the city for more activity related to supporting local businesses and economic development in addition to the very valuable events that they currently help promote and coordinate,” City Manager Fernando Santillan said.
Santillan and Chamber Past President Char Tucker rehashed much of the back-and-forth the city and chamber have had over the last year.
In a letter dated March 14, 2024, the chamber informed the city it would be cancelling the contract first entered into on July 18, 1994. This letter came after city staff brought the chamber a proposal for an updated memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would increase the funding provided to the chamber in exchange for events and workshops organized by the chamber and additional economic development activities.
According to a presentation of the proposal included in the city staff report, the city requested the chamber deliver on business development and attraction, destination marketing and visitor engagement, policy education and events. This would include updating the chamber website, engaging with regional stakeholders, tracking legislative activities and holding education workshops for small businesses.
At the Feb. 18 council meeting, Tucker said the chamber board felt the city’s proposal essentially resulted in a take over of chamber operations.
“We’re just not willing to have the city take over our chamber, and basically that’s what it feels like,” Tucker said. “We’re two separate entities, … we both work for the businesses in our community as well as our citizens, and we work independent of one another. That’s always how it has been.”
Included in the city’s proposal were requirements that the chamber reserve two chamber board seats — one voting and one non-voting — for city representatives and that the chamber have a minimum staff requirement of one full time employee, with a recommendation for two full time employees. According to a staff report, the city would provide the chamber with $62,000 annually along with in-kind contributions, such as city staff time, of $50,000.
The chamber board unanimously rejected the city’s proposal to add two people to its board and to add an economic development employee to its staffing, according to the March 14 letter. Although the letter said the chamber wished to cancel the contract, it said the chamber would continue to put on its standard events for the $35,000 provided to it annually by the city.
The chamber later sent a letter to the city dated May 10, 2024, with a counter-offer that proposed the chamber would host eight events, 11 monthly business community mixers and one quarterly business workshop in exchange for $25,000. Tucker said the chamber would be standing firm on that offer, even if the city decides not to give them any money.
“We haven’t received any money since June anyway, and we’ve continued to do everything that we always have,” Tucker said.
Regardless of the contract specifics, an update to the agreement is needed. Resident Theresa Salas, who formerly worked for the city, said some of the provisions in the contract were highly specific to the situation between the city and chamber in the 1990s.
For example, in addition to an annual stipend, the contract said the city would forgive the chamber’s monthly rent of $400; Salas said that comes from the fact that the city and chamber used to share an office building that has since been torn down.
In wanting to preserve the community events the chamber helps organize, the city council ultimately decided to reinstate an agreement with the chamber that will provide the chamber with $35,000 for the events it puts on with the city. The council also voted to pay for half of the cost of fireworks for the annual July 3 event, which will be approximately $11,000.
Tucker confirmed the chamber board would be likely to approve a contract with the terms discussed by the council.
