McAllen City Manager Ike Tewell on Thursday framed a multi‑year economic strategy for McAllen that centers on public safety, workforce development, housing and tourism, saying the City Commission has approved the annual budget and “we lowered your tax rate, a tick.”

Tewell said the city and its partners will pivot from one‑time federal stimulus spending and focus on using municipal resources to stimulate private investment, support small business and develop workforce pipelines.

Tewell opened by crediting local businesses and city leadership for rising property values that enabled the rate reduction. He highlighted the city’s investment in public safety, saying those expenditures are a top priority and helped McAllen’s reputation as one of the country’s safest cities. “Every single day, public safety is first and foremost in this community,” Tewell said.

City and chamber figures provided metrics for recent engagement: the chamber hosted more than 58 programs, ran over 360 activities and reported about 65,000 participant contacts this past year; the chamber also launched quarterly marketing campaigns that invested “nearly $100,000” in member promotion, according to the chamber remarks.

Tewell described new and continuing partnerships aimed at supporting retail and building the local workforce. He said the city, the Chamber of Commerce and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley are launching a program that will pair retail businesses with business‑school students to develop marketing and business planning, providing hands‑on experience for students and technical assistance for small businesses. “We’re getting ready to announce a fantastic initiative that is gonna work through the Chamber of Commerce with local retail,” he said.

Tewell also warned that federal relief funding the city previously used for drainage and other projects is exhausted. “That funding is gone,” he said, adding that the city must now focus on generating revenue through growth and private investment rather than relying on one‑time federal dollars.

Nut graf: The city manager’s presentation tied immediate fiscal actions (the commission’s budget approval and small tax‑rate cut) to a broader strategy: invest municipal resources to sustain public safety, spur private development and improve business support services, while leveraging partnerships with local universities and economic development groups.

Supporting details and context: Tewell said the city aims to support mixed‑use projects and redevelopment through a rewritten Unified Development Code (see separate article on UDC). He noted that the city is actively marketing a 70‑acre site for upscale housing and hospitality development near the convention center and emphasized the role of cross‑border shoppers in McAllen’s retail economy, citing a University economist’s finding that Mexican shoppers infused roughly $60 million into the local economy over a 33‑day tracking period.

Ending: Tewell closed the presentation by inviting questions and urging business leaders to engage with his office on specific needs. The chamber then moved to recognize community sponsors and legacy leaders; no formal public votes or changes to policy beyond the previously approved budget were recorded during the event.