Chamber wants back license bureau

The Jackson Chamber of Commerce will ask governor-elect Matt Blunt if it can resume the operation of the license bureau after a 12-year hiatus.

The Jackson Board of Aldermen Monday night adopted a resolution in support of the request, which would pull management operations from the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation.

The Jackson and Cape Girardeau chambers for many years operated the license bureaus, but when Mel Carnahan took office as governor in 1993, that changed. The foundation remained in control throughout Bob Holden's tenure as governor.

With the election of Blunt, the Jackson chamber will ask the state for control again.

Jacksons chamber director Ken Parrett was out of the office Tuesday and couldn't be reached for comment.

Jackson Mayor Paul Sander, who has been involved with the chamber for 20 years, said the chamber could receive $40,000 to $50,000 per year in exchange for managing the facility, depending on how the salaries at the license bureau are readjusted. That money, Sander said, would be put back into Jackson.

"I think from the chamber's standpoint, it's about the funding going directly back to the chamber, which would benefit Jackson more directly," Sander said.

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce would address the idea publicly, said president John Mehner, but only after discussions with the chamber's executive board.

Both chambers began operating the license bureaus in 1981, when Kit Bond was governor.

When Carnahan announced his plans in 1993, both chambers expressed disappointment.

This time, it will be the university that will fight to keep control of the bureau.

"We're asking for it to remain with the university," said Southeast president Dr. Ken Dobbins.

Dobbins said the money collected from the license bureau goes into two pots.

Roughly $17,000 goes toward the small-business development center. Another $40,000 to $50,000 per year goes into an endowment fund for students. Currently, there is $425,000 in the fund and the goal is to reach $1 million so the university can award $50,000 every year to "high-need" students, Dobbins said. The money that goes into the fund is also matched privately, he said.

Both funds help spur the economy, Dobbins said.

Sander, at the time when Carnahan made the decision, called the license fees the "backbone" of the chamber. Shortly after the license bureau was pulled from the Jackson chamber, the local commerce group decided to hire a full-time executive director. The city subsidized the chamber with roughly $50,000, something it would not have done if the chamber still received revenue from running the bureau. Over the last several years, as the membership has grown, the city's contribution has lessened. The city now pays $10,000 to the local chamber.

In 1993, then-university president Kala Stroup said the foundation did not ask to manage the license bureau. However, the foundation gladly accepted the appointment.

Some argued that the reason the chambers were stripped of the license bureau responsibilities was because the state chamber of commerce endorsed Carnahan's opponent that year when in other years the chamber remained neutral.

bmiller@semissourian.com

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