City Council scheduled to adopt budget, continue discussion of council district map June 16

 

Update: El Cerrito district maps narrowed to two by City Council

Update: El Cerrito City Council adopts budget

The El Cerrito City Council is scheduled to adopt budgets for 2026-27 and 2027-28 when it meets June 16. The regular meeting begins at 6 PM, following a 5 PM special meeting that will mainly be a closed session.

See images (from the council packet) for information on major factors influencing the budget and changes in this year’s budget, including cuts.

 Council agenda and staff reports 

 The budget is item 9A.

Earlier in the meeting (agenda item 7C, part of the consent calendar, which is normally adopted without discussion) the council is scheduled to receive a recommendation from the Financial Advisory Board. A Message from board chairman David Carvel included in the meeting packet reads in part, “There was a lot of debate about whether to recommend approval of the budget. Ultimately, no consensus could be reached on recommending or not recommending the budget. As previously  recommended to Council (5/26), we acknowledged that the City would likely have to dip into reserves to fund the losses in 2027 and 2028. However, dipping into reserves was something many FAB members felt was unnecessary at this time. Furthermore, it goes against the state auditor’s recommendation for the city to keep at least two months of expenses in unassigned reserves.”

 

Financial Advisory Board recommendation 

The agenda also includes adoption of the city salary schedule:

City salary schedule  

For all the materials related to the salary schedule see agenda item 9C.

Earlier in the meeting (Item 4) the council will hold another in a series of public hearings about drawing the five districts that will be used beginning in 2028 to elect a city council member from each district. The council is expected to take public comment and give direction to staff about its preferences for a map, which would be brought back for approval July 7.

The agenda includes the Zoom link for the meeting and details on how to comment:

• In person
• Via Zoom
• Online, using “Submit Comments” in the navigation bar next to the agenda.
• Via email to cityclerk@elcerrito.gov 

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