In a city like El Cerrito, where residents are continually asked to support tax increases and where reserves barely exceed minimum recommended levels, fiscal responsibility shouldn’t be a suggestion; it should be a standard. But recent actions suggest otherwise.
On December 17, 2024, the City Manager used a taxpayer-funded credit card to pay $372.26 for a departmental lunch at Ristorante LaStrada, a restaurant located in San Pablo. While the event was labeled an “Administration Department Lunch,” the bottom line is clear: public funds were used to cover a private meal for city staff and management’s holiday entertainment.
This isn’t a gray area. It’s inappropriate.
Charitably, one might ask: Is this common practice in other cities? We did the research. After interviewing ten city managers from across the region, not one believed it was appropriate to use a municipal credit card to fund holiday or celebratory meals. Several were emphatic: they personally pay when they want to acknowledge their teams. “We’re already paid well,” one city manager noted. “Taking your team out on your own dime is part of being a leader.”
The lack of an explicit policy against such spending in El Cerrito doesn’t make it right—it makes it even more urgent to ask why there isn’t one.
With an $89 million unfunded pension liability, looming budget deficits, and repeated warnings from state auditors, El Cerrito should be scrutinizing every dollar it spends. Residents are expected to foot the bill through higher sales taxes, parcel taxes, and real property transfer taxes. Meanwhile, the leadership dines out on public dollars.
Taxpayers deserve better. And more importantly, they deserve a government that leads by example—one that understands that fiscal responsibility starts at the top.
It’s time for El Cerrito to put a policy in place: no more entertainment spending on the public’s tab.
Call to Action:
Contact your City Council and let them know this matters. Ask for clear policies that prohibit the use of taxpayer funds for non-essential meals and entertainment.
- Mayor Carolyn Wysinger – cwysinger@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Mayor Pro Tem Gabe Quinto – gquinto@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Councilmember Lisa Motoyama – lmotoyama@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Councilmember Rebecca Saltzman – rsaltzman@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Councilmember William Ktsanes – wktsanes@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- City Clerk – cityclerk@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
Let’s hold our leaders accountable—because just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 
she has been doing that at keast 3 times a week, every week since she has started as city manager. Take a look; lunches at places all over Berkeley, Albany, and El Cerrito. The total is over $7k per year, us her travel expenses. You will find dinners in Sacramento, Philadelphia, Palm Springs, and in 38 states and 3 countries.
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