El Cerrito’s financial journey over the past two decades highlights a persistent pattern of fiscal instability and difficult decision-making. While the city recently managed to remove itself from the State Auditor’s High-Risk Cities List, over 450 cities in California are still more well-run, underscoring the ongoing challenges the city faces. From Stability to Decline: TheContinue reading “Moving Beyond Temporary Fixes: El Cerrito’s Path to Stability”
Tag Archives: Budget
El Cerrito’s Capital Improvement Needs: One-quarter of a Billion Dollars!
El Cerrito is facing an urgent and substantial need for capital improvements, estimated by the state auditor at nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. This staggering figure highlights the breadth of infrastructure needs within the city, encompassing everything from essential repairs to crucial building upgrades. Despite the significance of these unmet capital improvement needs,Continue reading “El Cerrito’s Capital Improvement Needs: One-quarter of a Billion Dollars!”
Mayor Tessa Rudnick: How Will You Lead Differently as a Future City Manager?
Mayor Tessa Rudnick has expressed aspirations to become a city manager one day. This raises an important question: How would she approach governance differently to ensure transparency, fiscal responsibility, and better outcomes for the residents of El Cerrito? With the State of the City Address approaching, now is the perfect time for Mayor Rudnick toContinue reading “Mayor Tessa Rudnick: How Will You Lead Differently as a Future City Manager?”
The 2019 Warning: El Cerrito’s Financial Woes Began Long Before the 2021 Report
In 2019, the City of El Cerrito was formally placed under the spotlight of the California State Auditor’s Local High Risk Program, signaling serious concerns about its financial health. This was not a sudden revelation. The State Auditor’s assessment highlighted longstanding fiscal challenges that required immediate attention. By February 2020, the Joint Legislative Audit CommitteeContinue reading “The 2019 Warning: El Cerrito’s Financial Woes Began Long Before the 2021 Report”
Four Years After the State Auditor’s Report: El Cerrito’s Financial Challenges Persist
Nearly 4 years ago in March 2021, the California State Auditor released a report exposing severe financial challenges in the City of El Cerrito. At that time, state auditor ranked El Cerrito, the sixth most likely city in the state of California to become bankrupt These issues included the depletion of unrestricted reserves, a structuralContinue reading “Four Years After the State Auditor’s Report: El Cerrito’s Financial Challenges Persist”
El Cerrito Council Election: Ktsanes Leads Helion, Paving the Way Toward Fiscal Responsibility
As the latest election results roll in, it’s clear that El Cerrito is on the cusp of a significant shift in its City Council. With current vote tallies, Ktsanes leads Helion, signaling that residents are ready to move toward a more financially responsible future. In an area where community engagement and fiscal stewardship have beenContinue reading “El Cerrito Council Election: Ktsanes Leads Helion, Paving the Way Toward Fiscal Responsibility”
Why El Cerrito’s City Manager Karen Pinkos is Not Fit to Lead: A Timeline of Missteps
In March 2021, the California State Auditor released a report warning that El Cerrito was the 6th most likely among 400+ cities in California to face bankruptcy. This report outlined serious concerns about the city’s overspending, poor budgeting practices, and insufficient efforts to address financial challenges. Under City Manager Karen Pinkos, who took office inContinue reading “Why El Cerrito’s City Manager Karen Pinkos is Not Fit to Lead: A Timeline of Missteps”
More Deception
In recent years, the City of El Cerrito has developed a reputation for confusing its residents with misleading initiatives, and the latest Measure G is no exception. The ballot language appears to indicate that the proposal is for a “1 cent” sales tax, but in reality, it represents a 1 percent sales tax. While theContinue reading “More Deception”
El Cerrito’s GFOA Budget Award: A Hollow Victory for a City in Financial Turmoil
It turns out that the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) did, in fact, award the City of El Cerrito with a budget award. But before we break out the confetti, it’s important to understand what this award actually measures—and what it doesn’t. The GFOA budget award, despite its name, isn’t actually a “budget award” inContinue reading “El Cerrito’s GFOA Budget Award: A Hollow Victory for a City in Financial Turmoil”
A Tale of Two Cities: How El Cerrito Can Learn from Hercules’ Financial Struggles
As residents of El Cerrito, it’s important that we take a hard look at our city’s fiscal health and understand the broader context within which we’re operating. The recent ranking by the California State Auditor places El Cerrito in a precarious financial position—13th most likely city in California to face bankruptcy. But what does thisContinue reading “A Tale of Two Cities: How El Cerrito Can Learn from Hercules’ Financial Struggles”
El Cerrito’s Financial Mismanagement: A Legacy of Deficits, Missed Promises, and Depleted Reserves
El Cerrito has faced budget deficits in 18 of the last 21 years. Since 2003, the city has been plagued by financial shortfalls, repeatedly dipping into emergency reserves and relying on short-term loans, known as “TRANS” (Tax Revenue Anticipation Notes), to stay afloat. By 2017, the reserves were fully depleted, leaving the city with noContinue reading “El Cerrito’s Financial Mismanagement: A Legacy of Deficits, Missed Promises, and Depleted Reserves”
Accountability on the Agenda: Electing El Cerrito City Council Members Committed to Oversight
With election season here and three out of five City Council seats up for grabs, it’s a critical time for El Cerrito residents to cast their votes for representatives who will rigorously hold the City Manager accountable for her performance. After serving 12 years as Assistant City Manager, Karen Pinkos took over the role ofContinue reading “Accountability on the Agenda: Electing El Cerrito City Council Members Committed to Oversight”
The Truth Behind El Cerrito’s Financial Position: Misleading Reserves Reporting
Both Lisa Motoyama and Karen Pinkos consistently claim that El Cerrito is in a strong financial position. However, they often blur the line between restricted and unrestricted reserves, combining them to paint a rosier picture. What they don’t mention is that approximately $10 million of these reserves are restricted, meaning that they cannot be usedContinue reading “The Truth Behind El Cerrito’s Financial Position: Misleading Reserves Reporting”
El Cerrito’s Troubling Financial Journey: A Timeline of Decline and Efforts for Recovery
In the past decade, El Cerrito has experienced a tumultuous financial journey, marked by repeated warnings from the State, declining credit ratings, and a high risk of bankruptcy. This blog will outline the significant events that have shaped the city’s fiscal landscape, highlighting the key figures and decisions involved. Early Warnings and Declining Ratings DecemberContinue reading “El Cerrito’s Troubling Financial Journey: A Timeline of Decline and Efforts for Recovery”
Neighboring Cities’ Approach to Free Speech and Open Government: A Stark Contrast to El Cerrito
This past Sunday at the Solano Stroll, a resident of El Cerrito had the chance to speak with candidates running for office in Berkeley and Albany about their positions on open government, transparency, and free speech. Based on their responses, it seems that supporters of open government would feel much more comfortable in these neighboringContinue reading “Neighboring Cities’ Approach to Free Speech and Open Government: A Stark Contrast to El Cerrito”
Time for a Change: Why El Cerrito Can’t Afford to Keep This City Manager
Did you know that two years ago, the El Cerrito City Council renewed the City Manager’s contract a full year before it was set to expire? This premature decision not only ignored her ongoing poor performance but also missed a crucial opportunity to bring in new leadership capable of making the tough decisions that ourContinue reading “Time for a Change: Why El Cerrito Can’t Afford to Keep This City Manager”
The Disappearing Act: El Cerrito’s Unclear Capital Improvement Plan
When it comes to planning for the future, one would expect a city to have a clear and coherent capital improvement plan, especially for major infrastructure projects. Unfortunately, the reality in El Cerrito is far from ideal. Around 2010, budget documents pointed to three significant projects: a new senior center, a new library, and aContinue reading “The Disappearing Act: El Cerrito’s Unclear Capital Improvement Plan”
Fiscal Transparency Needed
In her State of the City address on December 19, 2023, Councilmember Lisa Motoyama presented an optimistic picture of El Cerrito’s financial health. Her words, however, warrant closer examination. Lisa has long been recognized as the most fiscally responsible member of our City Council. Her efforts to steer El Cerrito through challenging financial times haveContinue reading “Fiscal Transparency Needed”
Creating Accountability for City Leadership
In the complex landscape of municipal governance, accountability is paramount. As El Cerrito faces persistent fiscal challenges, creating a system of accountability for the City Manager and their direct reports is crucial to ensuring transparent and effective decision-making. Data-driven leadership can play a vital role in establishing this accountability, driving improved performance, and regaining publicContinue reading “Creating Accountability for City Leadership”
The Hidden Cost of Loyalty: A Closer Look at El Cerrito’s Leadership
In the heart of our diverse and vibrant community, a troubling trend persists within El Cerrito’s city leadership—a trend that raises questions about loyalty, vested interest, and the real cost to our city’s future. At the helm of this trend is the City Manager, whose ability to cultivate unwavering loyalty from her staff comes atContinue reading “The Hidden Cost of Loyalty: A Closer Look at El Cerrito’s Leadership”
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 