El Cerrito: A Call for Leadership Reform Before New Taxes

El Cerrito is not a broken town. It is a town being asked to fund broken habits.

We are no longer interested in new or renewed taxes. Not because we do not value services. Not because we do not care about parks, libraries, roads, safety, or community programs. But because El Cerrito has reached the point where residents are treated like ATMs for problems leadership should be solving first.

Here is the truth: too many cities avoid saying out loud:

What separates one town from another is leadership. There is absolutely nothing else.

Not the ZIP code. Not the slogans. Not the branding. Not the latest civic engagement gimmick. Not a shiny project. Not a new consultant report. Not a new tax measure.

The people make the town. And the people we are talking about include residents and the public servants we employ.

You have no government gimmick that can save a town or make it thrive. It is the people. It is the standards they set, what they tolerate, and what they are willing to confront.

The deal going forward: reform first, then revenue conversations

New taxes must be the last conversation, not the first. Before El Cerrito asks residents for one more dollar, we should require leadership to demonstrate, in plain language and public view, that the City is doing the hard work that responsible organizations do every day:

• Set clear priorities and stop pretending everything is urgent
• Measure performance and publish results consistently
• Make tradeoffs openly instead of hiding them in vague messaging
• Fix preventable cost drivers before asking households to absorb more
• Prove that staffing, contracting, and project decisions are disciplined
• Build long-term plans that align services, assets, and funding reality

If leadership cannot do that, then new taxes are not a solution. They are permission to continue.

City Manager: Demand more from your direct reports

This is the part that matters most.

If you, as City Manager, do not demand more from the organization you run, then residents will not keep paying for what the organization fails to manage.

Demand more means:

Demand clarity from every department about what outcomes they own.

Demand real cost estimates that include ongoing operations, not just construction.

Demand schedules that are honest about capacity, and cut unnecessary overtime for management.

Demand financial reporting that highlights risks, not just reassurance.

Demand that hard conversations happen in public, not after decisions are effectively made.

Leadership is not comfort. Leadership is accountability with compassion. It is telling the truth early enough for people to make informed choices.

City Council: stop treating trust like a renewable resource

Trust is not infinite. It is earned through consistent honesty, especially when the message is inconvenient.

If Council wants public support, it starts with public respect:

• Respect residents enough to tell the full story, including what is not working
• Respect the public enough to explain what you are not funding, and why
• Respect taxpayers enough to show what has been cut, renegotiated, redesigned, or delayed before asking for more
• Respect the community enough to demand more from the City Manager

A city cannot tax its way out of credibility problems.

Residents: we do not get the town we deserve. We get the town we insist on.

Residents must work with the government to create the town they want. That does not mean cheerleading. That does not mean accepting talking points. That does not mean only showing up when something personally hurts.

It means showing up early, staying engaged, and insisting on standards.

• Watch meetings. Read staff reports. Ask follow-up questions.
• Demand clear financial summaries that connect decisions to impacts.
• Join commissions, boards, and committees if you can.
• Bring neighbors with you. Build shared expectations.
• Support staff who are trying to do the right thing, and challenge the ones who are not.

The most powerful civic tool is not a ballot measure. It is a community that refuses to be managed through vague language.

What we want is simple

We want a city government that behaves like a high-performing organization.

A city that plans.
A city that tells the truth.
A city that measures results.
A city that makes tradeoffs in daylight.
A city that treats resident dollars like scarce capital, not a backup plan.

El Cerrito can thrive. But thriving will not come from new taxes. It will come from leadership with backbone and a community that insists on excellence.

And until that shows up in consistent, visible practice, the answer to new taxes is no.

Contact the City Manager and City Council

If El Cerrito leadership wants to rebuild trust and move this city forward without defaulting to new taxes, it starts with listening, answering directly, and showing measurable follow-through.

City Manager

• Karen Pinkos, City Manager — kpinkos@elcerrito.gov El Cerrito
• City Manager’s Office (general) — citymanager@elcerrito.gov El Cerrito+1

City Council

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

Call to action

1. Email the City Manager and City Council this week and say this plainly:
   We are not supporting new taxes until the City demonstrates leadership-driven reform, clear priorities, transparent reporting, and accountable tradeoffs.
2. Ask for specific commitments in writing, such as:
   • What reforms will be completed before any new revenue measure is proposed
   • What measurable outcomes will be published quarterly – not just those budget vs actual reports
   • What programs, projects, or spending will be paused, redesigned, or reduced first
3. Show up together. Forward this post to neighbors, neighborhood groups, and anyone who cares about El Cerrito’s long-term health. A city changes when residents insist on standards—early, consistently, and in public.