From a recent social media discussion. At the October 7 City Council meeting, the Council considered authorizing an additional $391,000 to Ghirardelli Associates for “construction management services” related to the El Cerrito Del Norte Transit-Oriented Development Complete Streets Project. This wasn’t a competitive bid. It was a contract extension, justified by claims that the originalContinue reading “El Cerrito’s Selective Spending: Expert Voices Without Expertise”
Tag Archives: city-hall
💰 Taxing Our Way to Maintaining Services Hasn’t Worked
For decades, El Cerrito has responded to fiscal pressures with one familiar tool: more taxes. From parcel taxes and storm drain assessments to multiple sales tax hikes and the 1.2% real property transfer tax, voters have repeatedly been asked to approve new revenue streams to “preserve city services” and “prevent cuts.” Yet today, service levelsContinue reading “💰 Taxing Our Way to Maintaining Services Hasn’t Worked”
El Cerrito’s Workplace Standards
El Cerrito’s Leadership Crisis: Culture, Costs, and Consequences El Cerrito is in trouble. Services are declining, costs are rising, and the city’s workplace culture is not productive. This environment doesn’t just erode morale—it drives away top talent and makes recruitment nearly impossible. What’s left is mediocrity at best—and dysfunction at worst. Residents Deserve Better ElContinue reading “El Cerrito’s Workplace Standards”
El Cerrito Deserves Better: Why It’s Time to Move On from Gabe Quinto
For more than a decade, Councilmember Gabe Quinto has sat on the El Cerrito City Council. With his visibility at community events and a polished public persona, he’s managed to remain in office. But when you peel back the layers, one fact becomes undeniable: he has done nothing to strengthen this city or to meetContinue reading “El Cerrito Deserves Better: Why It’s Time to Move On from Gabe Quinto”
Libraries are good. This plan isn’t.
El Cerrito deserves a great library—but not at the wrong price. The City’s plan locks residents into $75M+ in new taxes for a ground-floor space in a BART housing project that the City won’t even own. We need a better plan—one that gives El Cerrito a true library, not just another forever tax. 👉 IfContinue reading “Libraries are good. This plan isn’t.”
El Cerrito Library: Public Safety Data Reveals Risks
In August 2019, a consultant hired by the City of El Cerrito flagged several potential issues with building a new library at the Plaza site. Even then, concerns about safety and accessibility were part of the conversation. Fast forward to today, and fresh analysis of police incident data suggests those concerns may have been well-founded.Continue reading “El Cerrito Library: Public Safety Data Reveals Risks”
El Cerrito’s Senior Center: A Promise the City Has Chosen to Forget
In March 2016, the El Cerrito City Council made a clear and unanimous commitment to its residents. Under then-Mayor Greg Lyman, the council voted for the Portola site as the location for a new library and explicitly rejected the “library-only” plan. Instead, they approved Proposal 1b, which included adequate space for a new senior center—aContinue reading “El Cerrito’s Senior Center: A Promise the City Has Chosen to Forget”
The Real Reason El Cerrito Isn’t Talking About Unrestricted Reserves Part II
Since FY22–23, El Cerrito’s unrestricted General Fund reserves have been in steady decline. And it’s no accident. Behind the scenes, the City has been quietly drawing down those reserves—while hoping the public won’t notice. Why? Because they’re counting on voters to approve the so-called “Forever Tax” to plug the holes. In 2023, the City CouncilContinue reading “The Real Reason El Cerrito Isn’t Talking About Unrestricted Reserves Part II”
Displacement Disguised as Progress
It’s hard to believe what the mayor said during the recent debate over the Richmond Street bike lane project. In an effort to justify a deeply flawed ordinance, she accused longtime residents of “appropriating the language of the oppressed.” Somehow, homeowners—many of them retired, working-class, or first-time buyers—were cast as the oppressor class. This isn’tContinue reading “Displacement Disguised as Progress”
Why Should We Trust the City’s Financial Information?
When public agencies ask for more funding, whether through tax measures or budget reallocations, they often ask residents to trust their financial stewardship. But what happens when the numbers they present don’t align—even in their own reports? Recently, while reviewing El Cerrito’s financials, a concerning inconsistency emerged. The unassigned General Fund balance for FY 2023Continue reading “Why Should We Trust the City’s Financial Information?”
Why El Cerrito Shouldn’t Trust Them with One More Dime
For years, El Cerrito residents have been misled — by City Attorney Sky Woodruff, who quietly shapes how ballot measures are presented, and by former Councilmember Greg Lyman, whose decisions nearly bankrupted the city. Now they’re back, pushing a new library tax through a campaign riddled with misleading claims and questionable tactics. This time, theyContinue reading “Why El Cerrito Shouldn’t Trust Them with One More Dime”
Richmond Street: The Train Has Left the Station
Informed by a concerned citizen Yesterday on June 26, 2025, El Cerrito management presented their vision for the Richmond Street project—and if you missed the meeting, you can watch the recording here: 🔗 Watch the Presentation 📊 View the Survey Results Let’s start with the good news. There were a few bright spots: Public EngagementContinue reading “Richmond Street: The Train Has Left the Station”
El Cerrito’s Misguided Development Gamble
El Cerrito’s City Council is pursuing a plan to relocate the public library into a high-density development at the Plaza BART Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) site. They claim it’s about modernizing services. In reality, it’s about propping up their speculative “urban village” vision—an idea that casts the library not as a civic resource, but as anContinue reading “El Cerrito’s Misguided Development Gamble”
El Cerrito’s Financial Reckoning: A Call for Long-Term Responsibility
A recent public comment submitted by a concerned El Cerrito resident—featured on page 735 of the June 3, 2025, City Council agenda packet—highlights urgent and deeply troubling issues regarding the city’s financial practices. The letter, written by Janos Szlatenyi, outlines not only a critique of the city’s current fiscal approach but also a clear warning:Continue reading “El Cerrito’s Financial Reckoning: A Call for Long-Term Responsibility”
El Cerrito’s Budget Illusion
El Cerrito residents are being misled. Despite claims of discretionary spending, the reality is starkly different. The so-called “surplus” is nothing more than a fragile cushion, barely above the minimum reserve requirement—and it’s shrinking fast. Here’s what you need to know. Not Discretionary Funds – Only a Cushion The city’s financial projections show approximately $2.1Continue reading “El Cerrito’s Budget Illusion”
El Cerrito Streets: Promises, Progress, and the Potholes Still Waiting
In 2008, El Cerrito voters passed Measure A, a ballot initiative that promised to fix potholes, repave streets, improve safety, and make our roads accessible for all. The measure authorized the city to incur debt—repaid with a dedicated half-cent sales tax—to jumpstart street repairs. But the potholes and uneven pavement remain. And it’s insufficient toContinue reading “El Cerrito Streets: Promises, Progress, and the Potholes Still Waiting”
How Greg Lyman Helped Send El Cerrito into near bankruptcy —And Now Wants a Blank Check for a New Tax
Before residents are asked to sign anything, they deserve the full story. The City of El Cerrito is facing another push for a new tax—this time for a library at the Plaza BART station. But before rushing into another costly project with no clear financial plan, it’s important to remember how we got here—and whoContinue reading “How Greg Lyman Helped Send El Cerrito into near bankruptcy —And Now Wants a Blank Check for a New Tax”
El Cerrito’s Unfunded Pension Liability: A Debt That Keeps Growing
City leaders in El Cerrito often attempt to defend the city’s growing unfunded pension liability (UAL) by claiming “it’s not like a mortgage.” And on that point—they’re absolutely right. It’s worse. A mortgage has a fixed payment schedule. You know exactly how much you owe, when it’s due, and how long you’ll be paying. TheContinue reading “El Cerrito’s Unfunded Pension Liability: A Debt That Keeps Growing”
Facing Facts in El Cerrito: The Fiscal Conversation We Deserve
As El Cerrito prepares its FY 2025–2026 budget, city staff are touting a “balanced” financial plan. But residents should take a closer look. Beneath the headlines and hopeful proclamations lies a sobering fiscal reality: We are inching toward more profound structural instability, masked by one-time funding shifts and unsustainable reserve draws. The $4.5 Million AskContinue reading “Facing Facts in El Cerrito: The Fiscal Conversation We Deserve”
The Brown Act: What El Cerrito Residents Should Know About Public Comment
If you’ve ever attended a City Council meeting in El Cerrito, you’ve likely heard the City Clerk say something like, “The Council cannot respond to public comment.” It sounds final, almost like it’s against the law for elected officials to engage. But here’s the truth: there’s no law in the Brown Act that prohibits theContinue reading “The Brown Act: What El Cerrito Residents Should Know About Public Comment”
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 