RGV would have tens of millions of dollars to help recruit new business if its EDCs joined forces

Imagine what an annual budget of $50 million or more could accomplish working on behalf of the entire region, says former Edinburg Assistant City Manager Brian Kelsey.

EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley entrepreneur Joaquin Spamer and McAllen Economic Development Corporation President Keith Patridge may be on to something when they urge Valley communities to collaborate to land new projects.

This is the view of Brian Kelsey, the former Edinburg assistant city manager who now works as an economic development advisor for Ernst & Young LLP in Arlington, Texas. Ernst & Young does economic development work all over the country.

“Let’s put some numbers to this argument I’ve seen made recently by Keith Patridge, Joaquin Spamer, the Rio Grande Valley Partnership and others about RGV cities co-investing in regional economic development,” Kelsey wrote, in a recent post on LinkedIn.

Kelsey said that according to the latest reports available (2022) from the Texas Comptroller, there are at least nine sales-tax funded economic development corporations in the RGV: Brownsville, Edinburg, Harlingen, McAllen, Mission, Pharr, Rio Grande City, San Juan, and Weslaco.

“Based on their self-reported 2022 data, combining the resources of just those nine entities would yield approximately: $73 million in sales tax revenue; $137 million in total revenue (includes bonds, grants, etc.); $57 million in total expenses for economic development activities; $96 million in cash on hand (reported as fund balance).”

For perspective, Kelsey said, the most well-funded economic development corporation in Texas in 2022 was Frisco, with $68 million in sales tax revenue and $105 million in total revenue.

“Imagine what an annual budget of $50 million or more could accomplish working on behalf of the entire region,” Kelsey wrote. “One Region, One Voice, indeed.”

Kelsey said the data could be found on the Texas Comptroller’s website. Click here to view it. 

It was pointed out to Kelsey that San Benito also has an economic development corporation. Kelsey checked into this on behalf of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service.

Kelsey discovered that San Benito had about $1.7 million in sales tax revenue, $1.8M in total revenue – and the same for expenses – and $4.3 million in cash on hand in 2022.

So, adding San Benito EDC’s revenue to the equation, the Valley could have even more money to recruit new businesses.

In a recent speech at a Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force/Futuro RGV summit, Spamer suggested San Benito EDC look after Houston if it did not have too much money to spend on marketing.

He suggested McAllen EDC handle the Far East because it has built up strong ties in China, Japan and South Korea. 

“We need to get organized. We need to work together and go out and bring business to the RGV,” Spamer said.

Spamer said he agreed with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott when he pleaded with the Valley to act as “one region, one voice,” in a major speech in Edinburg in August 2023.

Spamer questioned the money being spent on marketing the Valley. He said there is too much duplication of effort with no benefit from a multiplier effect.

“How is the money being spent because I have an issue with it,” Spamer said. “You have the McAllen Economic Development Corporation. You have the Port of Brownsville. You have COSTEP. You have the RGV Partnership. You have everyone spending money on economic development.”

Spamer said if all these monies were added together the total figure would be huge. 

“Nobody is organized. That money is not being multiplied. There is no synergy between all of us.”

Patridge appeared to echo Spamer’s remarks in an interview on KURV Radio. He said that when he goes on trade missions to Asia, his hosts “have no idea where McAllen is.” He said they “want to know about the region and the regional support they need to be successful here.”

Patridge added: “And so when they look, they’re looking at a much larger region. Where the city limit signs are, they don’t care.”

In an earlier interview with the Guardian, Patridge said: “Everything has got to be focused on the region. We’ve got to start pushing the regional aspect and getting away from that Saturday night football mentality,” Patridge said.

Patridge added: “We’ve got to make it work. We’ve got a lot of people focusing on regionalization, everybody’s wanting to be a part, but we have got to coordinate. If we start stepping on one another’s feet, it will fail. And we can’t let it fail. We can’t.”