The City Manager’s monthly report should provide the community with a window into the city’s priorities, challenges, and direction. But the latest installment, released on August 22, falls significantly short.
The timing alone is troubling. By the time the report appeared, its headline item—a wildfire preparedness event co-hosted with Assemblymember Buffy Wicks—was already weeks old and widely covered. Instead of offering timely insight into city business, residents received a recap that added little to what they already knew.
The more profound concern, however, is the lack of substance. Aside from a deserved acknowledgment of the Assistant City Manager’s new professional credential, the report reads more like a community bulletin board: an art exhibit announcement, a school traffic safety reminder, and another recap of the wildfire event. While these items may be pleasant, they do not reflect the real work or pressing challenges of city management.
What is left out is far more critical. The report makes no mention of the city’s ongoing budget instability, still propped up with one-time fixes and reserves instead of a credible long-term strategy. Deferred infrastructure maintenance continues to mount, making future repairs more costly. Rising pension and benefit obligations are squeezing the budget, and staff shortages across departments are reducing capacity to deliver the services residents rely on every day. On top of these challenges, controversial “forever taxes” are moving forward with little acknowledgment in official communications—measures that will shape the city’s fiscal future for decades.
These are not side issues; they are the central concerns that determine whether El Cerrito can sustain itself. By ignoring them, the monthly report presents an image of stability and celebration that simply doesn’t match reality.
A City Manager’s report should be more than ceremonial notes. It should be a substantive, timely, and transparent account of what the city is facing, where progress is being made, and where serious risks remain. Residents deserve clear, honest communication—not newsletters that gloss over the most important questions of governance.
Until these reports reflect the full scope of El Cerrito’s challenges, they will continue to fall short of their purpose. Our community deserves more than recaps and recognition; we deserve an accounting that takes our future seriously.
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 