El Cerrito has faced significant financial challenges in maintaining its recreation services, notably its swim center and senior programs, which have consistently incurred costs far exceeding their generated revenue. This discrepancy led the city to subsidize these programs from its general fund, missing out on potential revenue streams.
The city’s decision to close its senior center, which served a substantial portion of its 65 and over population, and sublease the space, rather than reevaluating its economic strategies, has raised concerns about sustainable city planning and concern for aging community.
Further complicating matters, El Cerrito has overlooked opportunities to increase revenue through its fire department’s emergency medical services. While the city provides these services extensively, it does not charge fees for them, unlike neighboring cities. Although El Cerrito receives an annual payment from Contra Costa County under an interagency agreement, this amount, slightly over $111,000, is likely insufficient given the high demand for emergency medical services. This situation presents an opportunity for El Cerrito to consider implementing first responder fees or renegotiating its contract with the county to better offset costs.
In summary, El Cerrito must explore and implement more effective financial strategies to ensure the sustainability of its vital public services. Charging appropriate fees for recreation services and emergency medical responses, along with reevaluating existing agreements, could provide the city with the financial stability it needs to serve its residents effectively. The state provided the city with a road map but the two years since the 2021 recommendations, city has yet to implement these recommendations:
State Recommendations to Address This Risk:
- To more fully recover costs at its swim center after the pandemic, the city should perform the following:
- Conduct an analysis to identify the demand for the swim center under normal conditions at different times—including holidays, weekends, and when the public has restricted access to neighboring swim centers—and determine whether increasing single‑use fees during these hours could better cover the costs of operating the swim center.
- Establish separate single-use fees in its master fee schedule for nonresidents at the swim center, in order to increase revenue.
- To more fully recover costs for its senior services, the city should do the following:
- By August 2021, assess free and low-fee senior activities and prepare an analysis for the city council that includes a plan for recovering the full cost of these activities.
- Continue to seek opportunities to sublease its modular building and move senior activities to the city-owned community center or clubhouses.
- To more fully recover the costs of the emergency medical services it provides, El Cerrito should conduct an analysis by July 2021 to identify the cost to the city of providing such services. Using this analysis, El Cerrito should consider the following:
- Determine whether it can renegotiate its contract with Contra Costa County.
- Determine whether charging fees for its services would be cost‑effective, considering any additional administrative costs it may incur.
- Pursue other options to generate revenue.
Here is how you can help:
- Share this post with other residents.
- Comment on the post
- Attend the monthly Financial Advisory Board meetings in person.
- Post on Next Door
- Voice your concerns with the Council.
- Council meetings are remote and in-person, but public comment is now limited to in-person attendees.
If you want to contact City Council Members or the City Managers, all their emails are below:
- Karen Pinkos-City Manager kpinkos@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Councilperson Gabe Quinto gquinto@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Councilperson Carolyn Wysinger cywysinger@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Councilperson Tessa Rudnick trudnick@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Mayor Lisa Motoyama lmotoyama@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Councilperson Paul Fadelli pfadelli@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 