East County Chamber eliminates CEO position

EL CAJON  — Scott Alevy, the former Chula Vista city councilman and public relations consultant who came under scrutiny two years ago in South County, has been let go as the East County Chamber of Commerce’s president and CEO, a title he held since January 2011.

In a letter sent this week to chamber members, Becky Burgstiner, the group’s acting president and CEO, wrote:

“To guide our Chamber of Commerce through these challenging economic times, your Board of Directors has concluded, after months of careful debate, that it is necessary to restructure our Chamber staff.

“To remain the strongest and most viable Chamber in East County, the Board has voted to eliminate the salaried position of President/CEO. This will free up crucial financial revenues that are needed to better serve our membership. The Board is confident that this is the best and most fiscally responsible course of action for our Chamber to take in the current economic climate.”

The chamber, which celebrated its 100th year in 2012, represents approximately 500 businesses in the East County region, including Lemon Grove, La Mesa and El Cajon.

Burgstiner said that the decision to eliminate Alevy’s position was made by the 35-member chamber board of directors. She would not reveal Alevy’s salary.

Business membership in the chamber has dwindled in recent years. The group’s IRS 990 form from 2010 listed its assets at $152,952. Its 2004 990 shows assets of $309,446.

“It literally comes down to finances,” Burgstiner said. “It’s our economy, which as we all know is not in the best shape. The chamber cannot financially afford a president and CEO. Scott did so many great things for the chamber and board of directors. It was an agonizing process for a number of months.”

Chamber director Odie Goward said, “Scott did as strong of a job as anyone. The big thing is a complete corporate restructure that we have to do of the organization based on finances. We’ll be making sure we maintain the strength of the organization.”

The board voted on the action last Thursday; Alevy was told on Friday. The chamber held its annual awards dinner Saturday night at Barona Resort & Casino.

“The timing of situations like that, it’s never right,” Burgstiner said. “It’s just been a tough road. It’s a huge hole, but now the executive committee is charged with looking at the entire staff and organization and move forward from here. We’re sure going to miss Scott, but it’s all about the numbers.”

Alevy did not return several phone calls, text messages and email seeking comment.

In February 2011, the U-T’s Watchdog team reported that Alevy had billed the Sweetwater Union High School District for meeting with people who said they never met with him and also charged the district for work he did as the chairman of a foundation that assists the district. That work was supposed to be on a volunteer basis.

Alevy, a Blossom Valley resident, replaced former El Cajon Police Chief Cliff Diamond as chamber president in 2011.