Category Archives: State Audit

In a city like El Cerrito, where residents are continually asked to support tax increases and where reserves barely exceed minimum recommended levels, fiscal responsibility shouldn’t be a suggestion; it should be a standard. But recent actions suggest otherwise. On December 17, 2024, the City Manager used a taxpayer-funded credit card to pay $372.26 forContinue reading “El Cerrito’s Taxpayer Funded Luncheon: A Call for Fiscal Responsibility”

El Cerrito has a pension problem that’s been compounding for years. Instead of meeting it head-on, the city has continued to apply minor fixes to a rapidly growing financial burden. One glaring example? The decision to open a Section 115 Trust fund with just $1 million, despite the city’s economic advisors recommending at least $5Continue reading “MicroBlog: A Cup of Water on a House Fire – El Cerrito’s Misguided Pension Strategy”

The City of El Cerrito is considering a proposal to add a dedicated bike lane on Richmond Street — a move that would eliminate residential parking on one side of the street and significantly impact the daily lives of long-term residents. While the city promotes the project as a step toward equity, sustainability, and saferContinue reading “A Bike Lane at What Cost? Richmond Street Residents Speak Out”

A City Manager’s job is to implement the vision of the City Council—but also to provide clear, measurable results that benefit residents. In a city our size, results should be visible. Here are a few areas where metrics matter: • Infrastructure – Have road conditions, lighting, and city facilities improved over the past five years?Continue reading “Microblog: What Should a City Manager Be Accountable For?”

When El Cerrito’s current city manager assumed office, the city held an AA credit rating, a mark of financial stability and prudent management. Fast-forward to today, and the city is hanging on to a BBB rating, a stark drop that raises serious concerns about financial governance and the city’s economic future. This decline reflects poorly onContinue reading “El Cerrito’s Credit Rating: A Story of Fiscal Decline”

Originally published on April 5, 2024 | Updated March 2025 Local government positions should be about service—improving communities, making informed policy decisions, and ensuring fiscal responsibility. However, as we have seen in El Cerrito, motivations for seeking office can sometimes stray far from these principles. Since our original post in April 2024, the El CerritoContinue reading “Motivations Behind Pursuing Local Government Roles:”

El Cerrito is making headlines for considering sanctuary status for LGBTQ+ individuals fleeing intolerance. It’s a compassionate gesture—and one that clearly reflects City Council’s values. But let’s be clear: this kind of bold, front-page visibility is exactly what we should be demanding for our city’s pressing issues. When will high taxes—some of the steepest inContinue reading “Sanctuary Status Makes Headlines—And So Should El Cerrito’s Other Real Issues”

Microblog ​The City of El Cerrito’s General Plan, adopted in 1999, serves as the foundational policy document guiding decisions related to development, growth, infrastructure, and environmental management. Over the years, the city has undertaken updates to specific elements of the General Plan, such as the Housing Element, to comply with state mandates and address immediateContinue reading “​El Cerrito’s Path Forward: A Comprehensive General Plan Update”

The upcoming El Cerrito City Council meeting has yet another significant financial issue—the cost overruns for the Richmond Street project—has been tucked away on the consent calendar. Like the $400,000 del Norte overrun, this placement is troubling but, unfortunately, not surprising. Placing important financial matters on the consent calendar has become a tradition in ElContinue reading “El Cerrito’s Richmond Street Cost Overruns”

On Tuesday March 4th, El Cerrito staff returned to the city council with a request to allocate an additional $60,000 to the Human Resources budget for legal fees. While the city has already spent over half a million dollars on a sexual harassment case, the El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government anticipates another legal issue—perhapsContinue reading “What Personnel Issues Might a City Address with $60,000 in Legal Fees?”

A concerned citizen recently wrote to the El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government, outlining multiple areas where the city could achieve meaningful reductions—potentially saving nearly $1.4 million annually without compromising public services. Meanwhile, the city plans to spend over $1 million in unrestricted General Fund reserves to cover unbudgeted over-expenditures from the first part of fiscalContinue reading “Saving $1.4 Million Without Cutting Services”