With the theme, “Believe in Mont Belvieu,” Mont Belvieu City Manager Brian Winningham told the audience at the Mont Belvieu Area Chamber of Commerce’s State of the City event that the story of the city is about the people who live in the community.

Winningham reflected for a moment on the recent river flooding tragedy that happened in Kerr County that killed more than 100 people. 

“We have people that we know who are actively involved and also families that are suffering, as you’ve seen with multiple remains that we’ve honored and came through our city,” Winningham said. “But also people who are former Mont Belvieu alumni who work now in Kerrville. And we’ve sent some staff there.”

Winningham said it will be the people of Mont Belvieu who will be seen during the worst of times. 

“This is who will show up,” Winningham said. “The people sitting at these tables, you’ll see us all again. And that’s why you’re here now, because we believe in what we’re doing. It’s pretty rare. It’s not normal for a group of people in a community to be so active and passionate about what you’re all about, about this community, about the area. It’s pretty rare. You have to enjoy it.”

Winningham said what is making Mont Belvieu a success is the people. 

“It’s all about people,” he said. “I think that the things that you’re seeing around the city are more reflective of the future because of the decisions that are being made by the people that are currently here.”

Winningham said he aims to make Mont Belvieu a family-friendly hometown.

“This is the vision,” he said. “It doesn’t change, but it’s reflective of what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Winningham said three things help them achieve the quality of life they seek in the City of Mont Belvieu. One is customer service. 

“That’s every single person who comes in contact with a city employee or official or somebody who works for the city of Mont Belvieu,” Winningham said. “You need to represent that as someone who is trying to provide you a service, a quality, excellent service. Do we always do it right? I’m sure we don’t. But more often than not, we do. And we need to have this pride of who we are and who we represent, and that’s the city of Mont Belvieu.”

Winningham said that fiscal responsibility is something every government should strive to master. 

“We are fortunate because of the people in this room who are in industry,” he said. “Almost 60 % of our revenue comes from the industry. And we value that in a way that we want to make sure that quality that we’re building here reflects the goodness that you’ll get … in our city.”

Winningham said it was also about the businesses in Mont Belvieu. 

“It’s difficult to get people to see the goodness because they just look at the numbers,” Winningham said. “They look at the small numbers, like 12,000 people. It’s not about that. We punch way above our weight.”

Organizational integrity was another reason Winningham pointed out for Mont Belvieu’s success. 

“It’s really our form of government,” he said. “City council establishes a charter because we’re over 5,000 people and they’re the chief executive and chief administrative officer in the city. That’s me. They hired me. So, I’m the fall guy.”

Winningham said he lives and breathes in the community.

“And I do this with my full heart,” he said. “This is who I represent and this represents you.”

Showing an organizational chart, Winningham said it was the folks who run the city who help make it all happen, from the police department to parks and recreation, the city secretary, its communications department, public works, finance, emergency services, engineering, broadband services and city planning. 

“I’m super proud of the people who are here ready to do something for our community,” Winningham said. “

Winningham showed a slide that indicated Mont Belvieu had a population of about 3,200 people in 2005. That grew to 8,200 in 2020, then to 11,500 in 2023 and finally to 12,600 in 2024. 

“We’re going to be at 13,000 people by the end of this year,” Winningham said. 

Winningham showed that the annual population increase in Mont Belvieu is about 6% to 9% and it was the Houston area’s fastest-growing city in 2018. 

The city also has about 3,500 total households with 91.1% single-family units and 8.1% multi-family units. The median household income is $138,000. The Mont Belvieu 2024/2025 tax rate is $0.471189 per $100 valuation of taxable property and the taxable values for 2024 were $5.88 billion. 

Some of the key metrics Winningham shared with the audience included the fact that Mont Belvieu will have 90,000 square feet of leasable retail space built in 2024-2025. Additionally, 40,000 square feet of retail space was constructed and leased in 2023-2024. The sales tax increased by 21.1% in 2023-2024, reaching a value of $8.6 million. 

Homestead property values increased in 2024 by 6.2%, Winningham pointed out. This is an average increase of $24,667, he said. 

There is an average of 350 housing starts, with 31 homes completed by May 1 of this year, Winningham said. Currently, Winningham noted there are 1,400 lots available. 

Mont Belvieu is business-friendly, Winningham said. The city offers generous developmental tax abatements and reimbursements as well as grants through the city’s revitalization grant program that matches developer investments in existing exterior façade improvements. The latest on this can be found by visiting www.montbelvieu.net/economicdev.