Jimmy Sylvia has dedicated his professional life to Chambers County, so it was no small statement when the County Judge announced Tuesday afternoon that his current term would be his last.
Sylvia was speaking at Eagle Pointe in Mont Belvieu at the Chambers County Economic Development Update.
The event, hosted by the Mont Belvieu Area Chamber of Commerce, seated a record crowd of approximately 200 attendees.
Sylvia said when he stepped down at the end of this term in 2026, it would mark 30 years as county judge and 34 years as a member of the commissioners court.
Sylvia used the majority of his time at the microphone, not to speak about himself, but to tout the success of Chambers County and the teamwork of the area’s leaders.
It was Barbers Hill Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Greg Poole who politely interjected into the presentation to make sure the county judge received some much deserved public recognition.
“I could not be prouder to have worked with you,” Poole said. “We have done so many powerful things collectively.”
Poole cited the goal and action to help the taxpayer and serve the taxpayer as reasons for Sylvia’s and the commissioners’ success.
According to Sylvia, Chambers County has grown from 25,000 residents in 1993 to approximately 56,000 today, with a median household income of $108,114.
Since 2019, the county’s tax rate has been reduced 10 cents, Sylvia said, and stands at $0.440035/100, which is less than the No New Revenue Rate.
Growing Economic Impact
County Commissioners Jimmy Gore (Precinct 1), Mark Tice (Precinct 2), Tommy Hammond (Precinct 3) and Ryan Dagley (Precinct 4) updated attendees on numerous road improvement projects and ongoing community center upgrades.
Dagley also recognized the importance of industry investment.
He said industry contributes approximately 65 percent of the tax spend in the county.
“Thank you to industry, thank you for looking out here and continuing to expand and believing in us,” Dagley said. “From 2023 to 2026, we’re going to have $3.9 billion in projects. It’s a little over 1,500 jobs. A third of that is logistics. About 13 percent of that is downstream; midstream is about 20 percent.”
According to Dagley, an additional $34 billion in project interests are looking to locate in Chambers County.
He cited cold storage, advanced manufacturing, heavy manufacturing, alternative energy, data centers, aerospace engineering companies, logistics companies, power generation, petrochemical and advanced manufacturing as potential partners.
“We’ve gone from an area that is really focused in midstream and downstream to having all sorts of businesses (locate) in this county, which I think is a huge benefit to everybody in this room,” Dagley said. “We’re diversifying and investing in the county. We’re being very progressive on attracting these new businesses.”
He noted Forbes characterized Chambers as the sixth fastest growing county in the United States.
“It’s hard to cut taxes and lower the tax rate and still keep up with that explosive growth, but the five of us up here are doing that, and I am very proud of it,” Dagley said. “I am proud to be a part of this court. They were doing that before I got here and will continue doing it now that I am on board.”
