City signs off on chamber, DSBA merger

by Cameron Rasmusson Staff Writer
| July 18, 2013 7:00 AM

SANDPOINT — Council members gave the green light Wednesday to the merger of the Downtown Sandpoint Business Association and the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce.

As a routine action in the budgeting process, council members reviewed and approved a budget for the DSBA. The authorization doubled as an endorsement of the organization’s restructuring, which will turn it into an advisory council under the chamber of commerce.

On the surface, not much is changing with DSBA finances, according to officials. It still balances out at a $98,000 bottom line supplemented by a $45,000 grant from the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency — the same as last year.

However, line items within the budget demonstrate the transition. Previous costs associated with operating its own location like lease payments, insurance, office supplies and more have been folded into a $15,200 administration fee to the chamber.

“It’s essentially the chamber’s management fee,” chamber president Kate McAlister said. “It works out to about 15 percent (of the budget).”

According to DSBA board president Jim Lovell, the partnership with the chamber will end the unnecessary duplication of resources. The administration fee compensates the chamber for the use of its personnel on DSBA projects. In addition, bringing chamber employees onto DSBA projects will let DSBA manager Marcy Timblin spend more time helping downtown businesses directly and less time dealing with office obligations, Lovell added.

It’s also notable that the DSBA budget’s bottom line is lower than its projected revenue, which totals $140,000 from business improvement district taxes. However, the projected income and actual income from the tax typically don’t balance out, according to DSBA associate Chris Bessler. The BID tax, which ranges from $10 to $65 per month based on business size, is a controversial measure among downtown business owners, and some refuse to pay it.

DSBA board members emphasize that all BID money will continue to be used on downtown improvement projects. Once the transition is finalized around October, the DSBA will operate as a council of nine, chosen from downtown Sandpoint’s various industries. These council members will serve as a representative of their industry peers and suggest projects or improvements that could benefit the region.