(IRVING, TEXAS) —Moody’s Investors Services and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has affirmed Irving’s double AAA rating, one of only five cities in the state of Texas. The city of Irving has held the ratings since 1996.
“Responsible fiscal management through lean times allowed us to improve service while cutting expenses,” said Irving City Manager Tommy Gonzalez. “The ratings agencies appreciate our financially conservative approach and reward us for it. We remain focused on our strategic plan and disciplined in our approach.”
When selling bonds for capital improvement projects such as city street repair, library construction, or parks enhancements, the top rating allows the city to save money by receiving the lowest interest rate possible.
Irving’s April financings received very favorable ratings. The interest rate on the General Obligation Refinancing was 1.375%. The interest rate on the Bridges of Las Colinas Certificates of Obligation was 2.859% and the rate on the Ranchview Certificates of Obligation was 2.769%. These favorable interest rates allow the City to maintain a low property tax rate and illustrate the importance of maintaining our AAA bond rating.
Moody’s Investors Services and S&P update the city’s bond ratings on an annual basis or at the time of bond sales. Irving has earned top ratings for its General Obligation Bonds from Moody’s every year since 1986—a claim that few cities nationwide can make.
S & P also affirmed Irving’s AAA ratings of the city’s General Obligation (GO) refunding bonds, series 2013A combination tax and revenue certificates of obligation, and series 2013 combination tax and revenue certificates of obligation, as well as the city’s outstanding GO Bonds.
Irving’s continued AAA General Obligation Bond ratings are attributed to the city’s large corporate tax base, strong financial management policies, formal investment and reserve policies, and strong general fund reserves. In addition, Moody’s has moved Irving’s outlook from negative to stable citing “stronger than projected positive operations that have bolstered reserves, a return to structurally balanced and positive operations sooner than originally anticipated, and the expectation that favorable financial trends will continue going forward.”
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About the City of Irving
Irving is the second city in the nation and the first in the State of Texas to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (2012) as well as the first municipality in Texas’ history to receive the Texas Award for Performance Excellence (2011). Irving is the 13th largest city in the state with 217,000 residents and is home to the largest office park in North Texas, where a number of Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered.
