During these challenging financial times, it has come to light that the city’s fiscal resources are being significantly stretched by the city manager’s frequent travels. On a roughly monthly basis, she attends networking conferences, with all related expenses—membership fees, conference charges, airfare, lodging, and dining—being covered by city taxpayers. This practice, while expensive, raises deeperContinue reading “Reevaluating Fiscal Priorities: A Closer Look at City Management Spending Practices”
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El Cerrito Quietly Renews City Manager’s Contract
On October 3, 2023, Resolution 2023-77 was quietly and unanimously passed by the City Council. The renewal included a hefty $450 car allowance although the City Manager lives in El Cerrito, a few miles from City Hall. In a recent turn of events, the City Manager, fresh off a contract renewal, displayed questionable judgment. Notably,Continue reading “El Cerrito Quietly Renews City Manager’s Contract”
Challenging Financial Oversight: A Critique of El Cerrito’s Budget Reporting Practices – Editor’s note below
Editor’s Note: Following the publication of this blog post, the City of El Cerrito staff made updates to the quarterly performance reports. These reports feature tables detailing revenue and expense categories, complete with annotations regarding budget percentages. This update is undeniably a positive move forward. The City Council Packet for Tuesday’s meeting was released today. Continue reading “Challenging Financial Oversight: A Critique of El Cerrito’s Budget Reporting Practices – Editor’s note below”
Calimesa Leads the Way: A Bold Solution to El Cerrito’s Fiscal Crisis
Calimesa Leads the Way: A Bold Solution to El Cerrito’s Fiscal Crisis El Cerrito faces an unfunded liability reported at $85 million, an amount surpassing its annual budget. The unfunded liability is the amount owed for pension costs that El Cerrito has not paid. With the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) applying a 6.8%Continue reading “Calimesa Leads the Way: A Bold Solution to El Cerrito’s Fiscal Crisis”
The Impact of Budget Amendments on City’s Financial Health
On Tuesday, the City Council authorized an expenditure that further narrows the financial safety net of our city, a resolution has been proposed to amend the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Adopted Budget and Capital Improvement Program. This action involves the allocation of $1,084,800 from the General Fund Unrestricted Fund Balance towards several park and facilityContinue reading “The Impact of Budget Amendments on City’s Financial Health”
Uncovering the Real Issues: El Cerrito’s Classification and Compensation Study
More on governance. Read On: The City of El Cerrito recently embarked on a classification and compensation study, ostensibly to address the challenge of attracting qualified candidates to fill vacant positions. They assert that low salaries are the primary reason for their recruitment struggles. But City Leadership moved to the 51st State of Denial andContinue reading “Uncovering the Real Issues: El Cerrito’s Classification and Compensation Study”
California State Auditor’s Assessment Reveals Inadequate Cost-Cutting Measures in Ongoing Expenses
El Cerrito, California, informed the State Auditor that it planned to implement a fiscal recovery plan by summer 2021, including elements from the Auditor’s report. However, the city’s plans failed to effectively reduce ongoing costs. Their corrective action plan lacks a focused strategy for spending cuts, even though their five-year forecast acknowledges the need forContinue reading “California State Auditor’s Assessment Reveals Inadequate Cost-Cutting Measures in Ongoing Expenses”
Rising Tide of Pension Costs: El Cerrito’s Escalating Financial Challenge
El Cerrito’s financial struggles are largely due to its escalating pension debt, linked to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). This debt saw a 67% increase from fiscal year 2014-15 to 2019-20, reaching $65.8 million by June 2020 and soaring to $85 million by June 2023. High pension liabilities mean rising costs over time,Continue reading “Rising Tide of Pension Costs: El Cerrito’s Escalating Financial Challenge”
Governance Matters: Expenses Continue to Outpace Revenue as Pension Liability Climbs – Microblog
In March 2023, El Cerrito unveiled its latest plan for financial improvement in response to a severe audit from the California State Auditor in 2021. This audit, part of a program targeting high-risk local governments, shed light on El Cerrito’s precarious financial state and tendency towards excessive expenditure. One key factor in the city’s revenueContinue reading “Governance Matters: Expenses Continue to Outpace Revenue as Pension Liability Climbs – Microblog”
State Auditor’s RoadMap: The Path to Success
The City of El Cerrito, while initially agreeing with some of the State Auditor’s recommendations, has shown a lack of commitment in implementing these suggestions, particularly in managing its financial struggles. The city’s budgets have consistently shown increased expenditures without justifying the rises, and its budget policy lacks clear procedures for monitoring departmental spending. ThisContinue reading “State Auditor’s RoadMap: The Path to Success”
Assessing Safety and Spending: A Tale of Two West Contra Costa Cities
The State Auditor’s report on page 25 highlights El Cerrito’s distinction of having the largest police staff per capita in the region, and potentially in California. Despite this, having more police officers doesn’t automatically translate to increased safety. El Cerrito faces the dual challenge of rising staffing costs and an escalating crime rate. El Cerrito’sContinue reading “Assessing Safety and Spending: A Tale of Two West Contra Costa Cities”
Exploring Untapped Revenue Potential in El Cerrito Volume 2
El Cerrito continues struggling to align expenses with revenue, causing great concern to many residents. El Cerrito has seen some strides in augmenting its revenue streams, primarily through increased sales tax collections from local businesses. Recent discussions, including a NextDoor post highlighting the proliferation of various establishments like massage parlors, liquor stores, a store specializingContinue reading “Exploring Untapped Revenue Potential in El Cerrito Volume 2”
Revenue Opportunities – Case Study
Lancaster, a town in the Antelope Valley north of Los Angeles, underwent significant changes a decade ago, particularly on Lancaster Boulevard, its main commercial artery. The street was transformed by widening the sidewalks, planting numerous trees, and reducing the road from five lanes to two for vehicles. This renovation attracted a surge in visitors andContinue reading “Revenue Opportunities – Case Study”
City’s State of Affairs Address: Citizens Seek Authenticity Amidst Reality
In Tuesday’s annual State of the City address, outgoing El Cerrito Mayor Lisa Motoyama delivered a message of optimism and progress for our beloved city. While the tone was cheerful, it’s essential to consider the broader context and some missed points that are crucial for a complete understanding of El Cerrito’s current situation. Her optimisticContinue reading “City’s State of Affairs Address: Citizens Seek Authenticity Amidst Reality”
El Cerrito’s Stalled Progress: How Council Inaction Harms Community and Staff
This blog has been consistently focused on the critical aspects of governance, accountability, and transparency within El Cerrito’s city administration. The Chief Executive Officer, and City Manager, carries the responsibility for overseeing both the operational and financial performance of El Cerrito. It is essential to note that the City Manager is accountable to the City Council.Continue reading “El Cerrito’s Stalled Progress: How Council Inaction Harms Community and Staff”
Accountability and Transparency Must Be More Than Just Buzzwords
After 12 years as Assistant City Manager, Karen Pinkos became City Manager on January 1, 2019. Since then, several disturbing events have happened under her watch, yet she acknowledges none, nor has she addressed these significant and catastrophic issues. As the City Manager conducts business as usual, she has two patented phrases. One of herContinue reading “Accountability and Transparency Must Be More Than Just Buzzwords”
Blog Purpose: Promoting Transparency and Accountability
As the year draws to a close, it’s important to reflect on the core purpose of this blog. Our goal has always been to promote responsible, sustainable, and transparent governance in El Cerrito. Each post we publish is aligned with this objective. At El Cerrito Community for Responsible Government, we’re aware that some of ourContinue reading “Blog Purpose: Promoting Transparency and Accountability”
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result
City Leadership: It’s not Us, It’s You. You just don’t understand. Citizens: Most residents want a new and improved library. We support the City’s efforts, but clearly not at any cost. In 2016, the initial attempt to secure a library bond in El Cerrito faced a resounding rejection from the Citizens. The bond measure crumbled dueContinue reading “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”
A Critical Look at El Cerrito’s City Management: Where Are the Funds Going? Read on:
In previous blogs, we delved further into the intriguing world of governance, or more pointedly, the absence thereof. To date, several people have chimed in to say that all candidates live in El Cerrito. But the blog’s crux is governance, and governance is the epicenter of El Cerrito’s woes. In this case: No one hasContinue reading “A Critical Look at El Cerrito’s City Management: Where Are the Funds Going? Read on:”
When a city goes bankrupt:Vallejo case study
As we continue toward the new year, it’s crucial to revisit a topic of utmost importance – the city’s financial health and the looming threat of increased taxes. Originally published in January 2021, this blog post is being brought back to spotlight the ongoing concerns surrounding our city’s fiscal mismanagement. Despite previous warnings, there isContinue reading “When a city goes bankrupt:Vallejo case study”
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 