Montauk Pioneer - October 10, 2008 - Chamber Funding Cuts

The Montauk Chamber Of Commerce Is About To Feel Funding Cuts From The Town Of East Hampton

In the center of the Village of Montauk is the Montauk Chamber of Commerce. It's almost like the heartbeat of Montauk. It is always staffed by smiling faces and it is where almost all visitors go when they need information, directions or just have a question. It is also a wealth of printed information. Almost every, if not every Montauk publication is somehow neatly stacked on those racks. It is no secret the Town of East Hampton has been going through a budget crisis, as is the whole nation, due to the collapse of the housing boom and the inability of many to keep up with their mortgage payments. On September 30, Town of East Hampton Supervisor Bill McGintee unveiled his proposal to get East Hampton Town back on fiscally sound footing. There were many new cuts and a new tax proposal in his budget plan.

Included in the proposed cuts were cuts that would affect the Montauk Chamber of Commerce. When contacted, the Montauk Chamber of Commerce released a statement calling the cuts "shortsighted." The statement laid down the argument that chambers of commerce throughout all the villages of the town promote tourism in such a way that the money spent to help promote tourism creates so much more income for the villages and thus the town. Anyone who lives full time in Montauk knows the great work and the stalwart staff the Chamber has. It is the Chamber that organizes the Friends of Erin parade every March, with those wonderful cups serving local clam chowder donated by almost every first class restaurant kitchen in Montauk. Almost 50,000 visitors in Montauk attend this event. Whenever anyone has a question about where an event or what time the event will start who do they call? At the social mixers organized by the Chamber of Commerce, many business owners actually finally get to meet their business neighbors socially.

This story is being written to express the concern of many in Montauk to reinstate the funds for this institution.

Here is list of the functions the Montauk Chamber of Commerce facilitates for the community: Concerts on the Green - every summer Monday evening, Montauk Art Show - Memorial Day, Old Timers Dinner and Harbor Festival - June, Fall Festival - October, Wine Tasting Event - Night at the Light - July, St. Patrick's Day - facilitate soup during parade, Fireworks, 2 Scholarships - 2 Montauk Students - awarded every year, Christmas decorations - lights, decorations and wreaths, and they Sponsor Families in Need through the Montauk School, and the Emergency Donation Fund for Montauk families.

It is an impressive list and it is one that touches every one in Montauk over the course of the year.