Tyler, Texas

hands. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation. BVM: Can you give us an overview of Tyler from an economic aspect? Mayor Heines: “We run a very conservative, business-like city government with zero general obligation debt. Our tax rate is low at 24.45 per 100; at least half below any other hub city in Texas. If you look outside all the big urban areas and their suburbs, we have a very large sales tax inflow into our city budget. We have an extreme amount of economic activity going on as the hub of northeast Texas.” Broussard: “One of the things Tyler has done really well has been working collectively with the community on economic development. We belong to the Tyler Economic Development Council, which consists of 122 organizations, primarily businesses, along with Smith County and the City of Tyler, that work together for economic development purposes. TEDC was formed in 1989 to help diversify the Tyler/Smith County economy by retaining and attracting primary jobs and investment to the area.” BVM: What are the major economic drivers? Mayor Heines: “Our history is very interesting. We were a rural agriculture area, until the 1920s when the east Texas oil field was founded near here in Kilgore. All the professional services you find in that city for the oil and gas industry came out of Tyler. Our population almost doubled during those years. People from all over the world moved here to be part of that industry. With that, came a wide variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds but, most importantly, the people that came to take part in that industry were entrepreneurial. They were risk takers. So, during the ‘80s when the price of oil hit $7 at one point, all the leaders in this community said, ‘We need to pivot; to look at how we do economic development for the future.’ So much has grown from that. “Tyler has still retained this entrepreneurial, risk- taking spirit. But now, the healthcare industry is huge. We have 25,000 jobs in the medical sector;