Chamber backs off credit request Group had sought $35,000 from town

HOULTON – The Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce has withdrawn its request to the town for a $35,000 line of credit to help it through lean times.

“We’re sitting better than we were” in November when the request was first made, said Lisa Miles, Chamber president, said Friday. “We can get by with less.”

The Town Council voted on Monday to table the Chamber’s request until it could review the organization’s budget and reorganization plan.

Councilors were concerned that the town could be left holding the bag and wanted more information to make sure that wouldn’t happen.

The Chamber had requested the line of credit as a backup financial reserve should membership dues be slow in coming in. Miles said, however, that dues requests were mailed out early, and many have come back early.

“That helped fill the gap, which is what the line of credit was supposed to do,” she said.

The line of credit was not an appropriation request. Rather, it was intended to tide the Chamber over in case of a revenue shortfall. Any funds that would have been used would have been paid back to the town with dues income.

The line of credit would have been separate from an appropriation to the Chamber from the town, which this year was $9,500. That money is not paid back.

Miles said the Chamber’s board met Tuesday and decided the financial picture had improved enough that the line of credit no longer was needed.

“We were never comfortable going before the council with this request in the first place,” she said, adding that the original request had been based in September on a possible worst-case scenario.

The Chamber already has eliminated some money-losing ventures that were handed off to it from other organizations in recent years, such as Moosestompers and the Miss Greater Houlton Pageant.

Plans are to concentrate more on profitable activities that are of direct benefit to its 140 members, such as the annual trade exposition.

For the time being, the Chamber also will hold off on filling the full-time executive director’s vacancy, which will save payroll costs, Miles said.

Part-time help and board members will be picking up some of the director’s responsibilities, she said.