Local governments in America have an average approval rating of 19%. One way to improve the public’s trust is to operate in a more businesslike manner and clearly demonstrate prudent management of resources. To do this the City of Rancho Cordova has downplayed the budget process, which attempts to project results, and instead highlights actual results with an Annual Corporate Report. Held every February the Annual Corporate Report is more than a hard copy report. It is an event structured to deliver data from the previous year’s audited finances in a manner that educates participants. Aimed at an audience of business/community residents, elected officials, and staff, expert speakers frame macroeconomic conditions and forecasts that set a context for which staff then present the City’s financial conditions and accomplishments. This brings the audience up to date on the City’s finances and allows for discussion about community priorities in the abstract, without the pressure of a specific budget. Rancho Cordova’s Annual Corporate Report is a bold approach at transparency that ultimately helps elected officials become better equipped at interpreting the public will in the context of the world
around them.