Next Edition: We Need a Better City Manager’s Report

With the City Manager’s next monthly newsletter, residents should expect more than another recap of ribbon cuttings, art receptions, and ceremonial acknowledgments. The purpose of these updates is to give the community a window into the city’s priorities, challenges, and direction. Too often, however, they have fallen short of that purpose.

The last newsletter avoided the issues that define El Cerrito’s future: budget instability, deferred infrastructure maintenance, rising pension costs, staff shortages, and controversial tax proposals. These are not minor concerns. They are the realities that shape the city’s ability to provide the services residents rely on every single day.

If the City Manager cannot bring herself to acknowledge these fundamental issues, then at the very least she should be able to talk about something significant happening in El Cerrito—something that demonstrates progress in the services the city provides to its community. Whether it’s a step toward long-term fiscal stability, a plan to address overdue capital projects, or action to improve service delivery in public works, safety, or recreation, residents deserve to hear about progress that matters.

Right now, the newsletter functions as little more than window dressing—celebrating the margins of city life while ignoring the center. A monthly communication that neither speaks honestly about challenges nor highlights meaningful gains has little value. Residents need timely, transparent updates grounded in the city’s responsibility to deliver services, not another glossy write-up that sidesteps the real work of governance.

The choice for the following newsletter is clear. Either acknowledge the troubling realities El Cerrito faces or demonstrate substantial progress on something that improves the services our residents depend on. What the city cannot afford is another month of hollow updates that tell us everything except what truly matters.

Read the City Manager’s August 2025 Report here.

Tell City Hall What You Expect

If you share these expectations, write the City Manager and City Council and ask for a newsletter that is honest about challenges and shows substantial progress on services that affect residents.

City Manager

• Karen Pinkos — kpinkos@elcerrito.gov. El Cerrito

City Council (write all or your council favorite):

• Mayor Carolyn Wysinger — cwysinger@elcerrito.gov. El Cerrito
• Mayor Pro Tem Gabe Quinto — gquinto@elcerrito.gov. El Cerrito
• Councilmember Lisa Motoyama — lmotoyama@elcerrito.gov. El Cerrito
• Councilmember Rebecca Saltzman — rsaltzman@elcerrito.gov. El Cerrito
• Councilmember William Ktsanes — wktsanes@elcerrito.gov. El Cerrito

For public comment & official record:

• City Clerk — cityclerk@elcerrito.gov (you can also send comments here to be routed appropriately). El Cerrito

Here’s a draft email:

Subject: Expectations for the City Manager’s Monthly Newsletter

Dear City Manager Pinkos and Members of the City Council,

I am writing to express my expectations for the City Manager’s monthly newsletter. This communication should provide residents with a clear picture of the city’s priorities, challenges, and direction—not just ceremonial highlights.

If the newsletter cannot candidly acknowledge the very real challenges El Cerrito faces—budget instability, deferred infrastructure, pension costs, staff shortages, and controversial tax measures—then it should at least highlight substantial progress on issues that directly affect the services we depend on every day.

Residents deserve a newsletter that is timely, substantive, and transparent, not one that merely functions as window dressing. I urge you to use this communication to be honest about risks, highlight meaningful progress, and show residents that leadership is working toward real solutions.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your City]