The third largest city in Santa Barbara County may soon lose its business advocate and organizer of a popular summer event after the Lompoc City Council voted to slash funding  for the Chamber of Commerce.

The decision will force the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce to close its doors on June 30, Chamber President/CEO DeVika Stalling said in an email to members, urging them to show up for Tuesday’s council meeting. 

“As some of you are aware, during the June 4th Lompoc City Council meeting, a motion was passed—without prior dialogue or opportunity for response—to drastically cut funding to the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce.” 

The City Council meeting is set to start at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers, 100 Civic Center Plaza.

“This is more than a loss of funding—it’s a loss of a cornerstone institution that has stood alongside our business community for decades,” Stalling said. “The Chamber is not just an office; it is a force for local progress and community support/engagement. Without this support, we will no longer be able to sustain vital programs and services that directly impact our community.” 

One of the first to feel the axe will be the Old Town Market, a popular summer gathering filling several blocks of South H Street with various vendors and organizations for six Fridays in July and August, officials confirmed this week. 

The announcement that the 2025 event won’t occur prompted disappointment from community members on social media and a defensive reply from the council member who publicly led effort to cut funding.

Other chamber programs set to disappear include Leadership Lompoc Valley, the Military Affairs Committee, State of the City and State of Vandenberg Space Force Base, low-cost workshops for small businesses, annual community awards event, ribbon-cutting ceremonies and mixers, Small Business Saturday and Old Town trick-or-treating event.

During the June 3 meeting, the council voted 4-1 to slash the funding with Councilmember Jeremy Ball providing the lone opposition.

The council approved providing $35,000 plus another $25,000 for waived fees, less than the $114,000. 

“The chamber does a lot of really great events for us and helps us out for economic development, tourism, assisting businesses, running a lot of our events,” City Manager Dean Albro told the council as the discussion began.

He asked how the city should provide the funding including whether a portion should come from utility funds or solely from the general fund.

During budget talks council members raised concerns about some of the funding coming from utilities.

If the council wanted to keep the funding solely from the general fund, they needed to figure out roughly $114,000 to slash.

Mayor Jim Mosby asked the nexus between economic development for funding the chamber through utilities and questioned if the city had a study to support the funding method. 

Councilmember Steve Bridge suggested the chamber’s 277 members should self-fund most of the activities.

“We’re definitely funding constrained,” Bridge said. 

He initially recommended providing $17,500 plus $25,000 in fee waivers for events organized by the chamber as the contribution.

“I’m not trying to be a jerk here. The money’s got to come out of the general fund. It’s that simple,” Bridge added. 

Ball noted the vast array of services provided by the Chamber of Commerce, calling it a worthwhile investment. 

“They give a lot to our community, and they put a lot back into our community,” Ball said, adding “there is value in what the chamber is doing.” 

Lompoc’s chamber operates with two paid employees, far fewer than other cities of a similar population.

The vote to cut the funding came as the city’s bleak financial condition of several years ago has improved, Ball noted.

A healthy business community is vital for a city that receives sales tax proceeds for the general fund while utilities can be viewed as a key feature to boost a city’s economic development efforts.

Ball said Lompoc has historically supported the Chamber of Commerce for decades as part of the city’s strategy. 

“If we go way less and they don’t function, this council shut it down,” Ball said.

Before he voted for cutting the contribution, Councilmember Dirk Starbuck lamented the potential loss of the chamber in organizing key events. 

“And I’ll tell you one of the bigger ones, which would be kind of an embarrassment for us, is when we have the State of Vandenberg and we’re not included,” Starbuck said.