The city will continue to provide about $60,000 in yearly funding to the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce for membership fees and economic development spending, following a unanimous vote of the city council Tuesday evening.
“This partnership is important not just for the chamber and our city but for the businesses and our citizens,” said Chamber President and CEO Debbie Egidio during a presentation to the council.
The chamber currently has over 480 businesses as members across a variety of sectors. About 85 percent of the businesses have 15 employees or less, she said, mirroring the makeup of the city’s economy. Total membership in the organization has shrunk since 2021-2022 heights of 539 businesses, to its current total or 489, Egidio said.
The chamber’s partnership with Genentech is ending, Egidio said. Historically, she said, the company has given $17,000 in grants to small local business development each year. The company also partners with The Solano County Office of Education, the Vacaville Chamber Educational Foundation, the Solano Business Development Center and other groups across the county.
The chamber also hosts events, Egidio said, including monthly mixers and the yearly Night of Champions annual gala. Each year, the chamber names a Business of the Year, Public Servant of the Year, Young Professional Of the Year, and Ambassador of the Year.
The Group also partners with the “Big Four,” a coalition of city economic officials, Vusit Vacaville, Downtown Vacaville and the chamber, partnering on promotion for events like Small Business Week. The State of the City is also hosted at the Chamber’s “Movers and Shakers Breakfast Summit” event each year, and the chamber hosts Business Issues Forums throughout the year with pertinent topics for businesses.
Egidio said Leadership Vacaville will continue this year starting in October, a personal and professional development program with material on governance, local industry and the makeup of the community. The program cultivates informed, engaged community leaders, she said.
This year city staff will help the chamber to develop a “business concierge” program, Don Burress said, which will be first rolled out downtown and then across the city, The Chamber will host a similar program called the “business ombudsman” program.
Over the last year, Egidio said, the city grew 76 percent in new businesses and 137 percent in new products. She said part of that growth comes from the spending of ARPA funds by the city to stimulate growth.
Councilmember Michael Silva was curious about a lack of clarity or a sense of conflict between groups in the “Big Four,” asking Egidio if she saw a long-term vision for how the group can best support one another and grow the local economy. Egidio said the group is working on defining specific roles between the different stakeholders.
“I think the overriding mission is economic development so I think that’s an easy one,” she said. “It’s just a matter of which things do we do.”
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