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San Dimas Chamber asks council for $3,200 MOU increase, cites 19% CPI rise and expanded member services
Summary
Chamber CEO Sylvia Melendez and representatives asked the council to raise the chamber’s Memorandum of Understanding funding by $3,200 (to $20,000) citing rising costs and new programming and said the ambassador program and expanded outreach justify the increase.
Sylvia Melendez, chief executive officer of the San Dimas Chamber of Commerce, presented the chamber’s mission, partnership network and programming to the council and requested a $3,200 increase in the chamber’s Memorandum of Understanding to bring the city payment to $20,000 annually.
Melendez said the chamber runs roughly 61 events a year—mixers, coffee hours, networking breakfasts and educational webinars—and highlighted partnerships with the Small Business Development Center, the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership and Mt. San Antonio College for programming such as "lunch and learn" webinars. She said inflation over the past five to six years has increased costs and cited a roughly 19% rise in the consumer-price index over that time as part of the justification for the additional funding.
Rita McGee, ambassador chair and an attorney with the Law Office of Margarita Karasicki, described the ambassador program as a volunteer liaison and outreach effort that supports member retention and community engagement. Raymond Foster and other chamber board members outlined upcoming plans including a wellness fair in cooperation with Parks & Rec and renewed Teacher of the Year events.
Council members praised the chamber’s work; multiple speakers from the public also endorsed continued city support. Melendez and chamber leaders said they would answer follow-up questions and provide additional details on programming and forecasting as requested.
Next steps: Council did not take immediate action on the request at this meeting; staff and council may address the MOU request in upcoming budget or follow-up discussions.
