2019 Award Recipient

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

Highlights

• Since 1994, the City of Germantown has received 

the highest possible credit rating from Standard & 

Poor’s and Moody’s.

• Germantown’s unemployment rate has improved from 

6% in 2014 to just about 2.6% in 2018, better than the 

current U.S. unemployment rate of 3.7% and other 

small cities that average 4–5%, according to the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Earning a net promotor score of 71 in customer 

engagement in 2018, Germantown has consistently 

exceeded the benchmark of 50, which is considered 

excellent; over 70 is considered world-class.

• The community rating for satisfaction with employee 

ethical behavior has been above 93% since 2014 and 

is approaching 100% in 2018.

 

City of Germantown, TN

Located near the Mississippi River and established in 1841, the 

City of Germantown operates under a mayor-council form of 

government through a private act charter by the State of Tennessee. 

With a certified population of 40,123, the City has one defining 

mission—Excellence, Every day.

Senior Leadership

• The City vision and community values are developed by citizens 

during the strategic planning process and deployed to staff, 

vendors, partners, volunteers, customers, and other stakeholders 

through the Leadership Model and varied communication tools. 

Vendors and partners receive a copy of the vision statement 

and Code of Ethics, with senior leaders providing education 

and communications to ensure that expectations are clear. Aligned 

with the vision, key performance measures for departments 

and key partners are integrated into dashboards, with operational 

measures incorporated into department business plans. 

• The community rating for satisfaction with employee ethical 

behavior has been above 93% since 2014 and is approaching 

100% in 2018. Ethical behavior is promoted through an opendoor policy, ethics training, performance indicators, an orientation 

program for new employees, a Code of Ethics for public officials 

and employees, and eight key processes.

• According to the employee survey, overall more than 83% of 

Germantown employees trust and respect senior leaders, a key 

driver of employee engagement, compared to the 2018 Federal 

Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) benchmark of just 71%. 

In 2018, nearly 80% were satisfied with their jobs, surpassing 

the FEVS rating by about 10%. In addition, 85% agree that they 

have enough information to do their jobs well, compared to the 

FEVS benchmark of just 69%.

Financial Results

• Since 1994, the City of Germantown has received the highest 

possible credit rating from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. 

The Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings 2017 statement indicated 

a very strong economy, management, budgetary performance, 

budgetary flexibility, liquidity, and debt-and-contingent-liability 

position, with overall net debt less than 3% of market value. 

• Germantown is one of 124 U.S. municipalities (out of 19,500) to 

hold a dual AAA bond rating from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. 

Total general fund reserves increased from nearly $25 million in 

2014 to exceed $40 million in 2018. This is in comparison 

to a 2009 best practice of the Government Finance Officers

Association that the minimum reserves a government should 

consider should equal about 16% of revenues or expenditures, 

about $28 million for Germantown.
2019 Award Recipient

City of Germantown, TN 

• Germantown’s sales tax revenue has been increasing steadily 

since 2014 at nearly $8 million to over $13 million in 2018. 

The commercial tax base revenue has increased by approximately 

$2 million since 2016 and now represents about 23% of the total 

property tax revenue.

• Germantown’s unemployment rate has improved from 6% in 2014 

to just about 2.6% in 2018, better than the current U.S. 

unemployment rate of 3.7% and other small cities that average 

4–5%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Per capita personal income has consistently exceeded $50,000 

since 2015 and approaches $55,000 in 2018, surpassing 2018 

Federal reserve bank benchmarks for the states of Tennessee at 

$46,245 and North Carolina at $46,117.

Customer Process with Results

• Germantown uses a net promoter score based on respondents’ 

answers to “how likely would you be to recommend Germantown 

as a place to live?” Earning a net promotor score of 71 in customer 

engagement in 2018, Germantown has consistently exceeded the 

benchmark of 50, which is considered excellent; over 70 is 

considered world-class.

• More than 70% of residents have lived in Germantown for more 

than 10 years, and more than 90% of residents plan to stay for 

five years, a percentage that has remained consistent since 2014.

• Germantown has sustained a close to 80% overall satisfaction 

rating since 2015, better than the 2019 FEVS benchmark at just 

60%. Almost 95% of residents are satisfied with public safety, 

including police and fire services and response time.

People Process with Results

• According to the employee survey, overall employee engagement 

improved from 72% in 2016 to 87% in 2018, outperforming the 

FEVS benchmark by 17%. In addition, 91% of employees were 

satisfied with support from management, and 90% were satisfied 

with benefits. 

• Germantown’s investment in its employees is evident through 

employee’s individual employee development plans and the 

Play Like a Champion leadership program, a development initiative 

started in 2012. 

Strategic Planning

• To ensure a sustainable future, all City work is guided by the 

resident-created Germantown Forward 2030 strategic plan. 

The eight-step strategic planning process is led by a 30-member 

steering committee appointed by the Board of Mayor and 

Aldermen, with the involvement of 300 residents. To ensure that 

customer requirements are met, departments conduct biennial 

customer focus groups to extensively review each department’s 

impact on the strategic plan.

• Annually, Germantown deploys the Financial Trend Monitoring 

System to understand current conditions and identify important 

trends and blind spots.

• Germantown ensures responsible governance through a charter 

that defines organizational powers, checks and balances, functions, 

and procedures. Quarterly business plan reviews are shared with 

elected officials and the public. Along with succession planning for 

senior leaders, collaboration with Leadership Germantown, 

a local non-profit, results in leadership training for residents who 

ultimately become leaders on the City’s boards and commissions.

Process Efficiency/Effectiveness with Results

• Police emergency response time has improved from 4.5 minutes to 

just over 2 minutes since 2011, compared to other city benchmarks 

of 5 minutes, and police non-emergency response time improved 

from 5 minutes in 2012 to just over 4 minutes in 2018. Similarly, 

911 calls have been answered in less than 10 seconds almost 

100% of the time from 2016 to 2018, better than two local cities 

that averaged about 95%.

• Germantown’s Fleet Services was selected by a national 

organization as one of The 100 Best Fleets in America for the past 

two years and named it in the top 50 Public Sector Fleets in 2018. 

Availability of the network, telephone, radio systems, and servers 

has been 100% for the past five years.

Citizenship with Results

Germantown’s commitment to the community is demonstrated

through various training and educational events such as 43 

active-shooter-scenario-training events in the last year with schools, 

community groups, and neighboring cities; five Safety City events; 

Heart Saver training for nearly 6,000 people; periodic Police Academy

training for citizens; and a recycling campaign. The City hosts an 

annual Night Out where public safety officials and other city staff 

visit about twenty locations throughout the community.

For more information:

City of Germantown

1930 South Germantown Road

Germantown, TN 38138

www.germantown-tn.gov

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 the Baldrige Program: 

www.nist.gov/baldrige | 301-975-2036 | baldrige@nist.gov

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