Cupertino council approves Baker Tilly budget-format recommendations, agrees to revisit performance measures in Q1

The Cupertino City Council voted unanimously on March 4 to accept a Baker Tilly review recommending a leaner, more accessible budget document and revisions to the city’s performance measures. Council members asked staff to retain full financial policies in an appendix, to verify OpenGov links and data, and to prioritize inclusion of the city’s capital improvement plan (CIP) information with the budget. The council also agreed to revisit performance measures in the first quarter of the next fiscal year.

Why this matters: Baker Tilly told the council the existing budget book is large and difficult for many users to navigate; the consultant recommended formatting changes, clearer alignment between budget and strategic priorities, and more outcome-focused performance metrics. Councilmembers said those changes are intended to improve transparency and to make it easier for residents and elected officials to see how spending supports city goals.

What the presentation covered Christina Alfaro, the city’s director of administrative services, opened the item and said staff wanted an outside review to streamline the roughly 600-page budget document. Steve Toller of Baker Tilly summarized the firm’s findings and recommendations, saying the budget document should ‘‘tell a story’’ about priorities and that the city should integrate a CIP plan, standardize departmental layouts, and shift performance metrics toward outcomes rather than workload counts.

Key findings and recommendations highlighted by Baker Tilly included: simplifying the budget layout, aligning performance measures with council priorities, including a CIP in the budget package, improving public engagement and accessibility (including using interactive tools), and standardizing department-level pages. The consultant estimated 33 total recommendations and proposed a phased implementation plan with priority tiers for changes to be piloted in the 2026–27 cycle.

Audit committee input and council concerns Members of the council’s audit committee told Baker Tilly that the CIP should be part of the budget packet and that detailed appendices should remain available for users who need them. The audit committee also suggested summarizing financial policies in the main book while keeping full policy text accessible.

Councilmembers raised operational questions about data accuracy in OpenGov and stressed that any interactive presentations must preserve a static ‘‘adopted budget’’ snapshot so users can see fixed adopted numbers. Vice Mayor Moore and others asked staff to include more historical context in the financial forecast—ideally multiple prior years of actual data—and to ensure that planned changes would be actionable given an ongoing ERP selection and the city’s staff capacity.

Council action and amendments Councilmember [motion-maker not specified] moved to approve Baker Tilly’s recommendations. The motion passed unanimously after a friendly amendment from Vice Mayor Moore that asked staff to: (1) retain full financial policies as an appendix to the budget document (with revision dates noted); (2) verify OpenGov links and data architecture before moving content to interactive formats; (3) hold off on eliminating department-level program budget detail for the immediate cycle pending staff review; and (4) elevate the CIP integration and a special-projects policy higher in the implementation priority list. The council also directed staff to return with a status report and to hold a study session in Q1 to review performance-measures updates.

What was not decided The council approved the consultant’s recommendations as amended but did not adopt a final, fully redesigned budget book at the March 4 meeting. Staff said many recommendations will require phased implementation and potentially system work tied to any future ERP selection. No changes to the city’s fiscal policies were adopted at the meeting; staff will present policy revisions and timing in the proposed budget materials.

Background and next steps Baker Tilly’s review was requested after staff and council members said the printed budget book was large and hard for residents to use. Staff said they will propose a draft implementation schedule as part of the proposed budget and will return to council with firm timelines. The audit committee and staff will coordinate on a pilot format for FY 2026–27 and quarterly CIP tracking.

Ending: Councilmembers praised the audit-committee process and supported a phased approach. The vote to accept Baker Tilly’s recommendations as amended was unanimous.