El Cerrito runs three fire stations, each with at least one fire engine. A standard fire engine has a 15-year lifespan, and one of El Cerrito’s engines has already reached that limit. According to the Fire Chief, it has required significant and costly repairs and should have been replaced years ago. During the June budget discussion, City management acknowledged the issue but only set aside partial funding for a new fire engine — not enough to cover the full cost. From management’s own report: “As reported earlier this year, the City’s Type 1 fire engine, housed at Station 52, is beyond its expected useful life of 15 years.” Fire engines have known life cycles. This didn’t sneak up on anyone. Yet instead of a disciplined capital renewal plan that anticipates replacement schedules for all essential assets, El Cerrito once again finds itself reacting to a preventable crisis. When cities treat predictable asset needs as emergencies, they waste taxpayer dollars on one-off, unplanned purchases. This is not fiscal management — it’s financial triage.
Bundling Crisis and Safety Spending with the Pool
At the October 21 Council meeting, management introduced an agenda item titled “Study Session – Update on Swim Center Lap Pool Renovation Options and Discussion of Capital Expenditures.” But instead of focusing solely on the pool, the discussion folded in other crisis and safety-related expenses — including the overdue fire engine — effectively combining multiple large purchases into one broad item.
What should have been a transparent discussion about the pool’s safety and repair needs turned into a bundled spending authorization. Management claimed prices were rising and requested that the council bypass normal Brown Act protections to approve a $1.6 million expenditure without advance public notice. The council agreed 4–1. Only Councilmember William Ktsanes voted no, showing respect for open governance, fiscal transparency and using reserves for their intended purpose.
The Larger Issue
This isn’t about one fire engine or one pool. It’s about leadership. El Cerrito has been urged for years to develop a Capital Renewal Plan—a structured, transparent roadmap for maintaining and replacing critical assets such as fire engines, facilities, and equipment. Instead, leaders continue managing by crisis, waiting for something to break before finding money to fix it. Reactive government is expensive government. Each time the city “discovers” an urgent need, it dips into reserves, reclassifies funds, or raises new taxes — while long-term priorities like the library remain unplanned and underfunded.
There’s another troubling pattern. When the City Manager wants to delay a decision, she ensures it’s not listed as an action item — framing it as “for information only” to prevent a vote. But when she wants to push something through, she’s willing to disregard the Brown Act and rush approval for items that weren’t properly agendized. That inconsistency erodes public trust and undermines the very transparency that open government laws are designed to protect.
The Leadership Challenge
Leaders stuck in constant firefighting can’t focus on growth. Urgent issues crowd out strategic priorities. It’s time to elect leaders who understand that strategy isn’t a buzzword — it’s a way of conducting yourself. El Cerrito deserves a government that plans ahead, manages responsibly, and earns public trust through transparency and foresight.
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 