Reevaluating Fiscal Priorities: A Closer Look at City Management Spending Practices

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Non Essential Travel and Dining Fees

During these challenging financial times, it has come to light that the city’s fiscal resources are being significantly stretched by the city manager’s frequent travels. On a roughly monthly basis, she attends networking conferences, with all related expenses—membership fees, conference charges, airfare, lodging, and dining—being covered by city taxpayers. This practice, while expensive, raises deeper concerns about the city manager’s availability to focus local issues. Despite the potential for gaining valuable insights at these conferences, there has been no indication that she has shared any learned strategies or implemented new initiatives based on her travels.

This situation highlights the urgent need for the city to realign its spending priorities, emphasizing the well-being of its residents over non-essential junkets at our expense.

Furthermore, the city manager’s habit of holding meetings with council members and staff at restaurants, at the city’s expense, despite having access to free meeting spaces at city hall, adds another layer of financial imprudence. This practice, compounded by a lack of transparency in expense reporting—specifically, the omission of attendees’ names from reimbursement documents—casts a shadow of potential misconduct and could be seen as a breach of public trust laws, namely the Brown Act.

We consulted with three city managers who shared that they personally cover their lunch expenses unless the meetings are extended over several hours. They emphasized that they typically pay for their own meals during staff meetings and one said they avoid scheduling meetings with direct reports during lunchtime to allow staff the opportunity for a midday break.

Additionally, the city’s decision to pay an external party $40,000 to facilitate just three budget meetings underscores a concerning gap in the management team’s expertise or availability. This expenditure raises questions about the city management’s capacity to efficiently utilize internal resources and lead effectively.

Please see the list of non essential travel and dining expenses:

Date                    Amount              Person                Business             Comment

9/22/2023         $339.30              Orologas              Hilton Hotel       Austin, Tx — ICMA

10/23/2023       $1,357.20          Orologas              Hilton Hotel       Austin, Tx — ICMA

11/22/2023       $516.16              Orologas              Everline Resort Spa Municipal Mgmt

9/22/2023         $40.50  Pinkos   Mi Casa Grill              Meeting with council member

9/22/2023         $37.58  Pinkos   Noodles Fresh              Meeting with Rec director

9/22/2023         $339.30              Pinkos   Hilton Hotel              Austin, Tx — ICMA

9/22/2023         $100.00              Pinkos   Local Government Hispanic Network   Austin, Tx

9/22/2023         $44.29  Pinkos   Yoshio Sushi              Meeting with council member

9/22/2023         $217.80              Pinkos   United Airlines

10/23/2023       $549.64              Pinkos   Hyatt Regency              Sacramento

10/23/2023       $1,357.20          Pinkos   Hilton Hotel              Austin, Tx — ICMA

10/23/2023       $53.39  Pinkos   Tashi Delek              Meeting with council member

10/23/2023       $750.00              Pinkos   League of California Cities

11/22/2023       $125.00              Pinkos   Parking NLC Summit for Pinkos and Quinto

11/22/2023       $136.42              Pinkos   Westin Peachtree           Lodging – NLC Summit Pinkos

11/22/2023       $90.99  Pinkos   United Airlines              Airfare – League Leaders Pinkos

12/22/2023       $393.37              Pinkos   Kimpton LaPeer Hotel      Lodging CCMF

12/22/2023       $193.93              Pinkos   United Airlines CCMF — https://www.cacitymanagers.org/

12/22/2023       $207.80              Pinkos   United Airlines Cal Cities CMD Conference

12/22/2023       $182.84              Pinkos   Cugini   Lunch for administrative staff

1/22/2024         $47.44  Pinkos   Yoshio Sushi              Meeting with Recreation Director

1/22/2024         $120.00              Pinkos                 Cal Cities Networking Event for staff

1/22/2024         $310.93              Pinkos   Renaissance Hotels   CCMF Board Meeting

This moment demands a leadership that is transparent, accountable, and dedicated to rectifying past missteps to guide El Cerrito towards a more stable and prosperous future.

Here’s how you can help:

  1. Share this post with other residents.
  2. Attend the monthly Financial Advisory Board meetings in person.
  3. Council meetings are both remote and in-person. The City Council meeting will be on tonight. The schedule is here.
  4. Share your voice with the Council Members, the Mayor, and the City Manager.

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