It has been a long time since I posted. This writer is going to be leaving El Cerrito and it has been hard to motivate myself to continue with the blog. This blog has filled a void by informing residents about the Fiscal Crisis and I feel sad that it may not continue. There isContinue reading “Will the Community Fight For Fiscal Responsibility?-El Cerrito Budget Update Part 1”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
CALL TO ACTION: El Cerrito’s Proposed Responsible Investment Policy – Fossil Fuels and Tobacco
As the October 2nd pipeline rupture off the Huntington Beach shoreline of reminds us, our reliance on fossil fuels is fraught with environmental and economic risk. An estimated 131,000 gallons of crude spewed into the Pacific Ocean, creating a highly-toxic 13-square mile oil slick that is now washing up onto Southern California beaches and intoContinue reading “CALL TO ACTION: El Cerrito’s Proposed Responsible Investment Policy – Fossil Fuels and Tobacco”
City Council Congratulates themselves for doing nothing
There was a council meeting last night. The finance reports were buried until the end as per usual. The good news is we ended the year with 1.3 million on the books. Some will say we had a surplus of over 2 million but over one million of that had to be written off dueContinue reading “City Council Congratulates themselves for doing nothing”
El Cerrito Spends Over Half a Million to Settle Sexual Harassment Case
A few months ago I saw this in the budget document (page 71) This is in the Human Resources Section of the Budget. You will note the $500,000 for a large legal settlement. If you remember in 2019 Sarah Perez sued the ECPD for sexual harassment and retaliation. She alleged she was sexually harassed byContinue reading “El Cerrito Spends Over Half a Million to Settle Sexual Harassment Case”
Budget passes 3-2
So bad news is the budget passed without structural cuts to address our severe financial problems. It appears most of the City Council and the City Manager are content to use the federal bailout money to address some of the reserve issues. This can be fine for the two years we get the money butContinue reading “Budget passes 3-2”
City Council Meeting June 15th
I will be honest a bunch of us dedicated budget/council watchers viewed some or all of the meeting. Afterwards, we had a few debates as to what happened. This is how convoluted this process is. Even people well versed in the dysfunction of the El Cerrito government can’t always keep up with the what isContinue reading “City Council Meeting June 15th”
Preparing for the June 15th City Council Meeting
A lot went on at the last meeting Council Meeting. We expect that there will be extensive public comment at the next meeting because people are upset about the cuts to the library hours. We would encourage the following talking points also. 1. Council members should reject the budget because it does not meet theContinue reading “Preparing for the June 15th City Council Meeting”
Pictures Speak Louder than Words
One of our local residents put together some graphs on El Cerrito finances for the years 2016-2020. I think this is a great way for us to see some of these issues visually. I know it was super helpful for me. At the bottom are links to the data sources used to create the graphs.Continue reading “Pictures Speak Louder than Words”
The City Manager continues to run the show
This meeting was extraordinarily long and very challenging to watch. The low points (there were no high points I saw). The library hours were cut by a 3-2 vote. Councilperson Motoyama brought up the motion after the City Manager hinted strongly for the second meeting in a row that she wanted them cut. Councilpersons Abelson,Continue reading “The City Manager continues to run the show”
Will Council Continue to kick the can down the road?
The next City Council Meeting will be at 5pm on June 1, 2021. The packet is here. The agenda includes the Budget for 21/22 and the TRAN!. The Tran paperwork starts at page 61 and the Budget paperwork starts on page 174. Join Via Zoom 1. https://zoom.us/j/91849369987?pwd=b3FJTGk2WTRaNThTVGVORmxsOVNuQT09 Meeting ID: 918 4936 9987 Password: 922486 or DialContinue reading “Will Council Continue to kick the can down the road?”
