El Cerrito City Council approves 2026-27 budget on 4-1 vote

The El Cerrito City Council approved a budget for the coming fiscal year at its June 16 meeting on a 4-1 vote.

Councilman William Ktsanes voted against the approval, saying while staff called the budget balanced it only appears balanced if you exclude a $1 million expenditure for a fire engine. Ktsanes said he would also have liked to see the city set aside some money toward needs such as a new or renovated library, new public safety building, community center improvements, and a new senior center. Setting aside some money for those things, he said, is important before asking voters to approve a bond measure to pay for the remainder of the cost.

The June 16 approval came at the conclusion of a months-long budget process that included discussion at several meetings and was necessary to meet a June 30 deadline. The council has also been discussing the budget for the following fiscal year, 2027-28, but the approval vote is only for 2026-27.

The city was facing a shortfall of $1.7 million for the coming fiscal year, which it blames on a number of factors including increased insurance rates and pension costs, and nationwide economic instability. 

Budget cuts (also in image above)

For additional Information on the adopted budget see item 9A in the council meeting packet 

View the meeting The budget discussion follows a discussion of dividing El Cerrito into five districts for city council elections beginning in 2028.

In response to a comment from a reader asking about the $10,000 reduction in the City Council retreat facilitator expenditure, I added this link to the “Council proposed budget” document from the May 19 budget discussion, also in the image below