Category Archives: State Audit

Trying to justify the lack of parking at the proposed library in El Cerrito Plaza. A recent suggestion making the rounds is that residents could simply ride Bay Area Rapid Transit from El Cerrito del Norte station to El Cerrito Plaza to access a new library. On paper, it sounds convenient. In practice, it raisesContinue reading “Ride BART to the Library? A Proposal That Misses the Point”

A concerned citizen recently laid out a simple question: when El Cerrito asks residents to approve a tax for a specific purpose, does the money actually get used that way? The answer, based on years of public records, is not reassuring. The Street Tax That Didn’t Fix the Streets In 2008, voters approved a permanentContinue reading “Another Tax – Same Story”

El Cerrito is being asked to commit $37 million in public funding to support a development at the El Cerrito Plaza BART site—a project that includes a new library and housing. That number isn’t a bonus. It isn’t a contingency. It’s the difference between the project moving forward… or not happening at all. And thatContinue reading “This Project Doesn’t Pencil Without $37 Million. That Should Tell Us Everything”

We’re being told there are multiple paths forward. Retrofit. Remodel. Rebuild. But those “options” are a distraction. The City’s own strategic plan already points to a new library at El Cerrito Plaza. That was the direction from the start. Early materials reflected that site before the rebrand. Now we’re being asked to vote first…and trustContinue reading “This Isn’t About Options. It’s About Trust.”

El Cerrito residents recently received a new, highly polished campaign mailer urging a “yes” vote—warning that if the measure fails, the library could potentially close. It is a powerful message. It is also misleading. First: The county funds 40 hours of library services at our current Stockton street library and will continue doing if weContinue reading “The Mailer Looks Polished. The Message Doesn’t Hold Up”

CLOSED SESSION – CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL: ANTICIPATED LITIGATION – SIGNIFICANT EXPOSURE TO LITIGATION: ONE POTENTIAL CASEPursuant to California Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(2)Contact: Sky Woodruff That language is not routine. It means the City believes a lawsuit is likely and that the potential consequences could be significant. Just recently, staff returned to the City CouncilContinue reading “Behind Closed Doors Tonight”

A concerning shift continues to unfold in the conversation around the proposed library tax and it is not about the merits of a library. It is about how neighbors are being treated. Since the pro camp can’t defend many years of poor management, fiscal irresponsibility, or poor planning on this project, they have resorted toContinue reading “When Advocacy Crosses a Line”

By a Concerned Citizen El Cerrito is now facing a lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA)—a law that has been on the books since 2001. Let that sink in. For more than two decades, cities across California have been expected to comply with this law, which is designed to ensure fair and equitableContinue reading “Another “Unexpected” Cost—That Wasn’t Unexpected at All”

Credit concern citizen on social media The City of El Cerrito recently established a new library task force to assess potential sites following community concerns that the City Council had already made its decision to place a new library at the El Cerrito Plaza BART location. This shift did not happen in a vacuum. ItContinue reading “When Leadership and Interests Collide: Questions El Cerrito Deserves Answered”

When people hear “library tax,” it sounds simple. Familiar. Even reassuring. A community investing in a library. But that label doesn’t tell you what this measure actually is. This is not a construction bond. This is not a guaranteed capital project. This is a parcel tax. And that distinction matters more than anything else. WhatContinue reading “The “Library Tax” Is a Parcel Tax—And That Changes Everything”

Credit: Concerned Citizen The El Cerrito City Council created a new library task force after residents raised a clear concern: the decision to locate a new library at the El Cerrito Plaza BART Station appeared to have already been made. The purpose of the task force was simple—restore confidence in the process. But structure aloneContinue reading “When Oversight Is Not Independent”

Credit: A concerned citizen El Cerrito residents are being asked to approve a library measure that, on its surface, feels familiar: invest now, build later, trust the process. But when you take a closer look at how the measure is structured, it begins to resemble something Californians know all too well—the high-speed rail project. NotContinue reading “The Library That Could Become Another High-Speed Rail”

Credit: Concerned Citizrn Over the past several days, many El Cerrito residents have received unsolicited emails from the Yes on Measure C campaign. Not postcards. Not public forums. Emails. Directly to personal inboxes. Without consent. And when residents ask to be removed, the response is telling: As neighbors bringing forth this citizens initiative it’s ourContinue reading “When “Community Outreach” Feels Like Spam”

There’s a difference between what benefits City Hall administratively—and what ultimately serves the residents who pay the bills. Nowhere is that tension clearer than in the City’s agreement with East Bay Sanitary (EBS). The Structure: How the Agreement Works In June 2022, the City entered into an exclusive agreement with East Bay Sanitary to provideContinue reading “What’s Good for City Hall Isn’t Always Good for El Cerrito”

Influenced by a concerned citizen’s social media post The takeaway from the Plaza BART library issue is simple: we need to pay far more attention to what our city government is doing. Many of us only became aware of the flaws in this measure because a few individuals started asking questions and raising the alarm.Continue reading “What We Learned—and What We Should Do Next”

A resident asked us to benchmark city manager salaries. There’s a common instinct when a city faces financial strain: look at executive salaries. It’s an easy place to point. A visible number. A clear target. But in El Cerrito, that instinct leads to the wrong conclusion. The El Cerrito City Manager is not paid atContinue reading “El Cerrito’s Problem Isn’t Pay. It’s Leadership.”

El Cerrito invested $150,000 in a comprehensive service delivery study meant to answer a simple but essential question: are we structured to deliver the services residents expect at a cost the City can sustain?The answer was supposed to inform the 2026 budget.Instead, as that budget moves forward, the study remains unfinished—and the questions it wasContinue reading “A $150,000 Study—Delivered Too Late to Matter”

Based on insights from a concerned El Cerrito resident Last night, April 7, 2026, the El Cerrito City Council held a study session on the senior exemption tied to Measure C. What unfolded was not a meaningful effort to support seniors, but a narrow discussion that raised more concerns than it resolved. The Council directedContinue reading “Council Turns Its Back on Seniors, Stonewalls the Public”

What El Cerrito Residents Should Know Before Voting on the Library Tax Tonight, the El Cerrito City Council will hold a study session on exemptions related to the proposed library parcel tax (Measure C). On the surface, this sounds reassuring—especially for seniors. But when you read the details in the agenda packet (pages 75–84), aContinue reading “The “Senior Exemption” Isn’t What It Sounds Like”