City of Irving, Texas

The City of Irving, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, is the 

13th most populous city in Texas and the 94th in the United States. 

The city, home to approximately 217,700 residents, encompasses an 

area of 68 square miles, including Dallas-Fort Worth International

Airport. Core services provided include law enforcement and 

compliance, fire protection and emergency medical, water and 

sewer, refuse collection, street maintenance and traffic management,

parks, libraries, recreational and cultural programming, and capital 

improvements.

A Lone Star Model of Fiscal Achievement

• The City of Irving is one of five cities in the state and 89 in the 

nation with a AAA rating from both Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and 

Moody’s—ratings that it has maintained since 2007.

• Irving’s tax rate is the second lowest in the Dallas-Fort Worth 

Metropolitan area. Since 2007, its overall cost of service—

combining property tax, water, sewer, drainage, and sanitation 

charges—has been better than four comparable cities in the area. 

Property tax revenues, more than 70 percent of which are from 

commercial property, are approaching $100 million. This far 

exceeds two comparable area cities with revenues of about 

$75 million.

• Fiscal accountability in Irving is based on a system of financial 

reporting audits plus internal and external audits. External audit 

results, findings of bond rating agencies, and City Council agenda 

packets and minutes are easily accessible online, part of the 

reason that the city has, since 2010, exceeded nine comparable 

cities in the area of financial transparency as recognized by the 

State Comptroller’s office.

Citizen Feedback a Priority

• The rating for overall quality of service in Irving (74 percent) 

is higher than the state of Texas (46 percent), county government 

(37 percent), and the U.S. government (38 percent). Since 2006, 

the percentage of residents rating many of the city’s key services—

including police, code enforcement, libraries, and recreational—

as good or excellent has increased by double digits. Surveys have 

shown that the percentage of citizens who feel that overall quality 

of life has improved has increased from 52 percent in 2006 to 

71 percent in 2012.

• The number of complaints resolved at the time of the call has 

reached a world-class level, increasing from about 50 percent in 

2009 to greater than 90 percent today.

• Three out of four residents say that they would recommend Irving 

as a place to live.

2012 Award Recipient

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

Highlights

• The City of Irving is one of five cities in the state and 89 in 

the nation with a AAA rating from both S&P and Moody’s—

ratings that it has maintained since 2007 and during the 

worst recession in U.S. history.

• Irving’s 2012 employee survey results show that its employee 

ratings exceed the highest comparable score received by a 

U.S. government agency. For example, 95 percent of Irving 

employees say the city government is a good place to work 

compared to a federal agency high of 84 percent.

• Since 2006, the percentage of residents rating many of the 

city’s key services—including police, code enforcement, 

libraries, and recreational—as good or excellent has 

increased by double digits.

• Irving’s police utilize best practices such as community 

policing, a problem-solving team, Twitter-based community 

crime watch groups, and increased use of volunteers. Violent 

crime decreased from approximately 700 incidents in 2007 

to 500 in 2011. Overall violent crime per 1,000 persons 

decreased 35.5 percent from 2006 to 2011. This decrease 

compares favorably to neighboring cities, one of which 

saw an 8.6 percent increase for the same time period.
Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

2012 Award Recipient

City of Irving, Texas

Consistent Results from a Team Culture

• Irving’s strong collaborative culture includes using 50 crossfunctional teams for accomplishing work and strategic goals. 

In fact, cross-training enabled the city to continue meeting the 

needs of its citizens even as positions were lost through attrition 

during the recent economic downturn. Irving has not had to initiate 

workforce reductions during this time.

• Irving’s 2012 employee survey results show that its employee 

ratings exceed the highest comparable numbers given by federal 

employees. For example, 85 percent of Irving employees are 

recognized for their work, compared to 70 percent for the highest 

federal agency; 97 percent say they “know exactly what is expected

of them,” compared to 84 percent for federal; and 94 percent say 

teamwork is encouraged, compared to 76 percent for federal. 

Additionally, 81 percent of employees say they have opportunities 

for growth and development compared to a federal high of 

55 percent, and 95 percent of employees say the city government 

is a good place to work compared to a federal high of 85 percent 

making the same claim. 

• City employees who participate in Irving’s incentive-driven “I Win” 

wellness program can earn monthly pay incentives ranging from 

$50 to $150 per month for one year based on their annual physical 

fitness and medical test scores. The program, which has been 

recognized by the American Heart Association, has helped the city 

save an estimated $1.5 million in medical claim costs annually and 

reduce its actuarial-determined retiree health insurance cost by 

$25 million over a 25-year period.

Focus on Strategic Planning, 

Process Efficiency

• Irving has a fully deployed Strategic Planning Process that is 

integrated with key customer requirements and includes input from 

residents, businesses, visitors, and employees. The 10-step process 

incorporates sharing of results and goals through multiple methods, 

including quarterly reports and presentations to the City Council 

and city management. Stakeholder involvement helps prevent 

potential blind spots while aligning the strategic plan with work 

functions and the city’s mission, values, and vision.

• Irving’s focus on process efficiency has resulted in more than 

$44 million in cost savings and efficiencies since 2008. Key work 

processes are managed using the performance measurement 

system and improved using LSS process improvement methodology.

This has reduced variation, eliminated waste, increased workforce 

productivity, and saved or avoided costs. For example, the city has 

significantly increased the number of commercial plans reviewed 

within six business days from 34 percent in 2008 to nearly 

100 percent today.

Making Irving Safe and Green

• Irving’s police utilize best practices such as community policing,

a problem-solving team, Twitter-based community crime watch 

groups, and increased use of volunteers. Violent crime has decreased

from approximately 700 incidents in 2007 to 500 in 2011. 

Overall violent crime per 1,000 persons decreased 35.5 percent

from 2006 to 2011. This decrease compared favorably to 

neighboring cities, one of which saw an 8.6 percent increase for 

the same time period.

• Property crime decreased from 9,000 incidents in 2007 to fewer 

than 7,000 in 2011.

• Surveys show that the percentage of residents rating the quality 

of daytime safety in their neighborhood good or excellent increased 

from 93 percent in 2006 to 96 percent in 2011. Similarly, the rating 

for evening safety increased from 64 percent in 2006 to 81 percent 

in 2011.

• Irving’s emergency responders currently arrive in less than five

minutes 73 percent of the time, a 38 percent improvement since 

2007. This is better than a comparable nearby city (50 percent) and 

the International City/County Management Association top quartile 

for cities over 100,000 (62 percent). 

• Irving has established a Green Advisory Committee and an 

enterprise-level environmental policy that includes such measures 

as a chemical substitution program, the use of solar power, and 

the requirement that all new city facilities meet Leadership in 

Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards.

• Since 2008, Irving has increased its use of alternatively fueled 

vehicles from less than 50 percent to more than 60 percent, 

compared to about 10 percent for a nearby city. Greenhouse gas 

emissions from the city have decreased by 17 percent since 2007.

• Since 2008, energy consumption by the city government has 

decreased by 5 million kilowatt-hours and by almost 3,000 cubic 

feet of natural gas—a total savings of $11.1 million.

For more information:

Lynda Johnson

City of Irving

City of Irving

825 W. Irving Blvd.

Irving, TX 75060

Telephone: (972) 721-2709

E-Mail: baldrigeinfo@cityofirving.org

Web Site: http://www.cityofirving.org

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program

The Baldrige Program educates organizations of all sizes and 

from all sectors in organizational performance management and 

improvement. We also administer the Malcolm Baldrige National

Quality Award. Our key services are to identify and recognize 

role-model organizations, share best management practices, and 

help organizations achieve best-in-class performance levels. We are 

the only public-private partnership and Presidential award program 

dedicated to improving U.S. organizations. 

For more information on Baldrige, visit www.nist.gov/baldrige, 

call (301) 975-2036, or e-mail us at baldrige@nist.gov.