The Key West Citizen

Chamber Ups Fees To $50

The Chamber of Commerce membership moved last night to up membership fees to $50 per year and voted a membership drive to provide funds for the operation of the organization.

The action came at a membership meeting held in the Marine dining room of the Casa Marina Hotel after Doyle Morgan, chamber manager, had told the membership that activities of the chamber would have to be curtailed on Apr. 1 unless additional funds were provided.

Civic minded individuals also volunteered contributions to make up the reported deficit in the budget of some $2,800 in order to keep the chamber office in operation.

According to an unofficial tabulation of the offers made during the dinner meeting by a reporter of The Citizen, members subscribed almost all of the deficit.

Morgan, in a report of the activities of the organization during the 1956 calendar year pointed out that the office had processed some 36,000 letters, met 11,000 persons in the office, carried on the activities normally assigned to a Better Business Bureau, solicited and served 20 conventions, been instrumental in securing invaluable advertising through magazine articles and distributed 75,000 brochures while carrying on the many other activities of the office.

Morgan said this had been done with the aid of two full-time employees and part-time employees to the equivalent of another full-time worker.

Cramped office space and inadequate equipment have also hampered the work, Morgan said.

He said that the office staff and income were about one half those of other chambers in cities of comparable size.

"We just can't do any more on the budget we have," Morgan declared, and predicted the Apr. 1 curtailment if more funds were not made available.

When the motion to increase the annual dues to $50 was finally put to a vote there was not a single dissenting ballot.

The hike in membership fees had been recommended by the finance committee and approved by the board of directors.

It was pointed out several times during the discussion that other chambers of commerce in tourist sections of the state received much more funds from counties and municipalities than does the Key West Chamber.

A tabulation of a recent survey is printed on page 4 of today's Key West Citizen.

CHAMBER OFFICIALS HUDDLE - Shown conferring during last night's membership dinner at the Casa Marina Hotel are (l. to r.) Chamber President Paul J. Sher, Chamber Manager Doyle Morgan, 1st Vice President Merville Rosam and Immediate Past President Joe Pinder. The group voted to hike membership fees to $50 per year and to initiate an intensive membership campaign. - Citizen Staff Photo, Hank Day.

City	Pop.	Members Dues	Income	City Income	County Income	Total Income
Bartow	15,000	175	$25	$4,275	4,000	$8,275
Belle Glade	10,000	200	25	5,000	5,400	50
Bradenton	20,000	625	40	25,000	17,500	10,000
Clearwater	33,000	900	40	36,000	60,000	96,000
Coral Gables	30,000	625	35	21,875	5,400	27,275
Daytona Beach	38,000	1600	30	48,000	140,000	188,000
Delray Beach	7,500	600	40	24,000	18,500	42,000
Ft. Lauderdale	72,306	1600	40	64,000	75,000	139,000
Ft. Myers	22,000	700	30	21,000	10,000	18,000
Ft. Pierce	24,000	671	25	16,775	8,000	32,775
Gainesville	40,000	850	25	21,250	10,000	31,250
Hollywood	27,500	910	35	31,350	42,000	73,350
Jax Area	398,000	3950	48			189,600
Jax Beach	22,000	450	24	10,800	20,000	30,800
Key West (Est.)	35,000	520	25	13,000	9,000	1,700

Lakeland	43,000	950	25	23,750	25,000	48,750
Lake Wales	9,200	225	22.50	4,862	5,000	9,862
Leesburg	12,000	500	35	17,500	10,000	27,500
Miami Beach	54,000	1450	35	50,750	300,000 (Approx.)	350,750
Palm Beach	5,066	361	25	9,025	2,000	11,025
Panama City	32,000	800	25	20,000		50,000
Pensacola Area	135,000	1180	50	59,000		59,000
Pompano Beach	18,500	800	35	28,000	16,000	44,000
St. Augustine	25,000	650	25	16,250	12,500	43,750
St. Petersburg	144,700	2300	35	80,500	286,000	366,500
Sarasota	35,000	1200	40	48,000	20,000	82,000
Tallahassee	42,000	1200	30	30,000	30,000	1,800
Tampa	250,000	1575	50	78,750	75,000	228,750
Tarpon Springs	6,500	150	25	3,750	7,300	11,050
W. Palm Beach	62,000	800	50	40,000	125,000	250
Winter Haven	12,000	450	40	18,000	10,000	28,000
Winter Park	17,700	395	20	7,900	6,000	13,900
Orlando	76,400	1380	25	34,500	112,500	147,000