On February 7 the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce presented the 2024 Economic Summit, a biennial event focused on economic conditions in Brownwood, Brown County, and the state of Texas.  The presenting sponsor for this year’s event was Texas Bank.

Chamber President Dale Lepp, Plant Manager of the Kohler Manufacturing facility in Brownwood, welcomed the crowd and announced an upcoming expansion at the local Kohler plastics plant.  The expansion will be valued at $28 million and will add 40 to 50 jobs.

Howard Payne University hosted the Economic Summit in the Mabee Center on campus.  University President Dr. Cory Hines gave the invocation, proudly announced that enrollment at Howard Payne is up, and showed that Howard Payne University directly spends over $26 million locally, coupled with induced spending of almost $10 million for a total economic impact locally of over $36 million.  The University also creates 366 jobs locally.

The first speaker was Joann Coronado of the Texas Workforce Commission, who addressed the audience via Zoom.  Some of the information presented by Ms. Coronado:

*** Employment growth in Brown County, from 2019 to 2023, was up 2.0%.  In Texas employment growth was 8.8% over the same time period.

*** Brown County has 15,750 non-farm jobs.  The largest job increases (2019-2023) included Education and Health Services (up 310 jobs), Financial Activities (up 170), and Trade, Transportation, and Utilites (up 120).  The largest job decreases were in Construction (down 210 jobs) and Manufacturing (down 90).

*** Unemployment in Brown County is currently 3.6%, while Texas is 3.5%.  Unemployment peaked during the pandemic in April 2020 at 8.9% in Brown County, and 12.3% in Texas.

*** The #1 job demand in Brown County is Registered Nurse, with 164 job postings and a median salary of $70,274 in 2022.

The next speaker was Larry McManus, Director of the “Business and Community Development, Economic Development, and Tourism” office in the Office of the Governor.  McManus spoke about the strength of the Texas economy.  Some highlights:

ECONOMY

*** If Texas were an independent country, it would have the 8th largest economy in the world, in terms of Gross Domestic Product.  The Texas GDP is greater than that of Canada, Russia, Italy, and Brazil.

*** In 2022 Texas added over 650,000 jobs, the most of any state.

*** Texas has the second largest civilian workforce of any state, more than fifteen million persons.

*** In 2022 Texas was the largest exporter of any state, for the 21st year in a row.  Texas was also the #1 state in high-technology exports, for the 10th year in a row.

POPULATION

*** In 2023 the Texas population grew more than any other state, for the 17th year in a row.

*** Texas has added 4.8 million new residents since 2010, more than New York and California combined.

*** Six of the nation’s top ten counties for population growth are in Texas:  Harris, Collin, Denton, Fort Bend, Bexar, and Montgomery.

EDUCATION

*** Texas is home to six universities ranked in the Top 100 in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report:  Rice, University of Texas, Texas A & M, SMU, Baylor, and TCU.

*** Texas has 37 public 4-year universities, 44 independent 4-year universities, 15 medical colleges, and 50 community college districts.

*** The high-school graduation rate in Texas is 90%, higher than the national average.

*** Nine public high schools in Texas are ranked in the Top 100 High Schools in the nation.

TRANSPORTATION

*** Texas has more than 314,000 miles of public roads.

*** Texas has 10,500 miles of freight rail roads.

*** Texas has more than 80 airports, 26 of which are commercial.

*** Texas has 19 seaports, 11 of which are deep-water ports.

BUSINESS

*** Texas is home to 55 Fortune 500 corporate headquarters, more than any other state.

*** From 2020 through 2022, 159 corporate headquarters moved to Texas.  Of those, 79 came from California.

The City of Brownwood was represented by Ray Tipton, Director of the Brownwood Municipal Development District, and Marshall McIntosh, Deputy City Manager.  Some of the information about the local economy they presented:

*** Sales taxes collected in 2023 by the City of Brownwood and the Brownwood MDD totaled $9.7 million.  That is an increase of 49% since 2014.  Tipton pointed out that inflation over that time period was 28%, leaving a real growth in sales tax revenue of 21%.

***Construction valuation in Brownwood runs about $10-$11 million a year.

*** The Hotel Occupancy Tax collected in 2023 was $429,000.

*** Direct visitor spending in Brown County in 2022 was $66.8 million.

*** Real estate sales in units were 350 in 2020, 378 in 2021, 359 in 2022, and 313 in 2023.  The median sales price in 2020 was $135,000; in 2023 it was $177,900.

Tipton said that in addition to the Kohler plant expansion announced by Chamber President Dale Lepp, Superior Essex Manufacturing has announced a $73 million plant expansion which will take place over the next three years.  The project will add 90,000 square feet to the plant for a total of over 500,000 square feet, and will add 170 new jobs.

Home2Suites opened recently, adding 83 badly needed hotel rooms to Brownwood.  In retail, Freddy’s Burgers and T.J. Maxx opened in 2023, and Shoe Department Encore will open soon in the old Kroger building.    The OYO hotel was demolished last year and the site will be developed for commercial use into three lots.  Two of the lots have commitments, although Tipton could not announce what those businesses will be.

In the Parks Department, the City of Brownwood upgraded Coggin Park last year, with a new walking trail, and improved tennis/pickleball courts.  This year the City has begun an upgrade to Riverside Park, including new roads, landscaping, lighting, and a pavilion.  Phase One costs $3.1 million, and was paid for with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.  Phase Two will cost $1.5 million, half of which will be paid for by a grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

In downtown, the Brownwood MDD has a building improvement incentive program.  From 2018 through 2023, the BMDD has issued $1 million through this program, to match private investments of $5.6 million.

In addition to the Presenting Sponsor Texas Bank, four Supporting Sponsors were the Brownwood Municipal Development District, Abilene Regional Airport, the Heartland Association of Realtors, and the Lower Colorado River Authority.