A Varied Agenda

El Cerrito City Council Chamber on Feb. 3, 2026

The wide-ranging agenda for Tuesday’s City Council meeting touched on issues ranging from the library tax and financial updates to rules for public comment, a state legislative agenda, supporting the #7 bus, and resisting ICE. The council also approved a new phase of work at the Swim Center, honored a firefighter of the year, and recognized a 13-year-old competitive diver.

Council Chamber Closed for AV Upgrade

Feb. 3 was the last meeting that will be held in the council chamber before the room is closed for an audio-visual upgrade from Feb. 4 to March 24. While the work is going on, most city meetings will be held at Hana Gardens, 10860 San Pablo Ave. However, residents were asked to verify meeting locations during this period because they may change.

Swim Center Parking Lot

The council approved a $660,000 contract with Grade Tech Inc. for work on the Swim Center parking lot. The work is expected to be done between March and June of this year. It will involve reconstruction of existing accessible parking spaces and paths of travel between the parking spaces, building entrances, and Moeser Lane to meet current code. Stormwater retention will be updated and additional EV charging facilities are listed as part of the project. The city intends to seek a grant for EV charging, according to Public Works Director Yvetteh Ortiz.

The bid was lower than the cost estimate prior to bidding, as was the bid for replastering the lap pool, which began in January. The combined cost of the two projects will be $1,645,355, according to a city staff report.

‘Bus Party’ on Feb. 7

At the Feb. 3 meeting, Joanna Pace kicked off public comment with an invitation to join a “bus party” and ride the #7 AC Transit bus on Saturday (Feb. 7) that runs from El Cerrito to Berkeley, mostly along Barrett Avenue and Arlington Boulevard. The bus party will meet at 4:30 p.m. at Del Norte BART and ride to the Yeti Sports Bar in Berkeley.

Next up was the library tax. Four residents commented, and their remarks are covered in a separate post, Library Tax Debate.

Diver Mario Ubalde (right) and family

13-Year-Old Local Diver

After that, the council passed a proclamation recognizing a 13-year-old El Cerrito boy who won two silver medals at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Diving Championship and represented the U.S. at the Olympic Hopes International Youth Diving Championship in Budapest, Hungary.

The diver, Mario Ubalde, is a student at Black Pine Circle School in Berkeley and previously attended Kensington Hilltop Elementary School. He said he practices about 2.5 hours every day at a facility in Novato that has 10,7,5, and 3-meter diving boards. He’s preparing for nationals this summer.

Firefighter/Paramedic James Van Wyck (holding certificates) is the 2026 Firefighter of the Year.

Firefighter of the Year

Another proclamation honored Firefighter of the Year James Van Wyck, a paramedic who has led the way in implementing the department’s LifePak 35 EKG monitors and managing the Emergency Medical Services supplies, records management system, and budget. He trained the entire department on the use of the EKG monitors and mechanical CPR devices, enhancing patient outcomes.

Van Wyck’s colleagues chose him to be the 2026 Firefighter of the Year.

Council member William Ktsanes meeting with constituents

Solidarity With Minneapolis

The council also passed a resolution expressing solidarity with the city of Minneapolis and its residents in the aftermath of recent United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) related shootings, and affirming the city of El Cerrito’s commitment to human rights, public safe, and accountability.

The resolution, drafted by council member William Ktsanes, also states the City Council’s support for transparent, independent, and impartial investigations into the recent shootings, and urges that all law enforcement actions be evaluated consistently with constitutional protections, civil rights, and community safety.

Audited Financial Report

For the second consecutive year, an independent audit by Chavan and Associates found no significant problems with El Cerrito’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).

Sheldon Chavan said his firm started auditing the city’s financial report four years ago, and said in January 2025 that he noticed a dramatic improvement in how the ACFR was being done. That improved reporting continued this year, he said, leading to another finding of no significant deficiencies.

Crystal Reams, the city’s finance director and treasurer since July 2024, took the lead in preparing the ACFR and presenting it to the council.

After years of being on the State Auditor’s list of cities at high risk of being unable to meet their financial obligations, the high-risk designation of El Cerrito was removed in December 2024.

The city’s financial policies were amended to increase the city’s reserve goals to 30%, including a general fund reserve of 17% and Emergency and Disaster Relief Recovery Fund of 13%.

This year’s ACFR stated that as of June 30, 2025, the city had a combined fund balance of $43.97 million, an increase of $2.29 million over the prior year. About 45% or $19.84 million was classified as unassigned fund balance and was available for spending at the government’s discretion.

City revenues increased by $5.3 million, or 8%, compared to the prior year. Sales and use taxes were up 6%.

Utility user taxes were up 4.8%. Property taxes increased 2%. The city also reported receiving $6.8 million in capital grants and $3.35 million in operating grants in the fiscal year ended 2025.

City employee costs increased and the trend will continue as a result of new agreements with the city’s labor unions and retirement contributions, the report said. Employee costs paid from the general fund are projected to be about 73% of total general fund spending for the upcoming fiscal year.

Council member Lisa Motoyama said, “We are in a stable situation and have reserves. Now we need to work on keeping it stable and stop being reactive,” said council member Lisa Motoyama. “We can be proactive.”

Unfunded pension liability is the biggest negative in city finances. The city’s CalPERS pension liability rose to $83.13 million.

Motoyama noted that the council has contributed $3 million to a Section 115 trust to help pay down pension contributions in coming years.

State Legislative Platform

In other action, the council approved a State Legislative Platform and agreed to hire the (California Public Policy Group) to lobby on its behalf in the state Legislature and pursue grants.

Council member Rebecca Saltzman opposed authorizing the consultant to represent the city based on a pre-written legislative platform. She said a lot of the platform is “pretty vague” and it would be better to have the consultant check in briefly with the council as issues come up.

Council member Ktsanes said he would like more frequent updates on legislation and grant activity by the consultant.

Ethan Nager of CPPG said he and his colleagues fought hard and succeeded this year in preventing legislation that would have limited the ability of cities to pass real estate transfer taxes.

The real estate transfer tax in El Cerrito is a major source of revenue. In response to a question, Finance Director Reams told Livable El Cerrito that the net revenue for the city from the real estate transfer tax was $3.2 million in 2025 and $3.1 million in 2024. Revenue from the tax that took effect in 2019 reached a high of $4.86 million in 2022.

Other key issues for the city include monitoring sales and use taxes so they are allocated to the point of delivery and supporting legislation to protect firefighters and others from the fire and explosion risks associated with electric vehicles and lithium ion battery charging instruction, council members said.

Mayor Gabe Quinto said he learned after meetings in Sacramento that e-bikes are the #1 issue where cities would like to see legislation at the state level. Cities could then follow the state’s lead when it comes to regulation.

Rules for Public Comment

The council also approved new rules for public comment. A subcommittee consisting of Motoyama and council member Carolyn Wysinger had agreed in January 2025 to examine the rules, partly in response to requests that people be allowed to make comments at council meetings using Zoom.

Zoom public comments had been discontinued after verbal attacks were directed at council members.

Recently the state Legislature passed SB 707, which modifies the Brown Act governing public participation at government meetings. It requires that remote comments be allowed.

Minutes Per Speaker

El Cerrito's new procedures continue to give the mayor discretion on how long public comments may be. New guidelines for handling meetings with many speakers are also listed.

·         1 – 10 speakers, 3 minutes

·         11-20 speakers, 2 minutes

·         21-30 speakers, 1 minute

·         More than 30 speakers: the total time for public comments may be limited.

Council member Saltzman said the rules were “too prescriptive” although they still allow mayoral discretion. Saltzman said if the council chamber is packed with people who want to speak, she does not want the debate cut off after 30 people.

Limiting Total Time for Public Comment

Motoyama said there is no 30-person limit.

However, Saltzman said if 30 speakers are each given one minute and the time is limited to 30 minutes, that means speakers can be sent home without a chance to speak.

“It makes me nervous,” Saltzman said. “If somebody share something challenging on an issue that really needs to be addressed, I don’t want them to speak to us, hear nothing, and then leave the room and then we can’t follow up.

Council member Rebecca Saltzman

Council Responses to Public Comments

Saltzman also pointed to a statement that “council members shall not respond to public comments.”  While the Brown Act requires that council members do not enter into a dialog with people about issues not on the agenda, saying that council members shall not respond is too limiting, she said.

Wysinger said that while working on the procedures, she and Motoyama “actually had those questions of how to show more empathy or compassion in situations, because how do you articulate that in a document such as this?”

Motoyama said one goal of the rules and procedures is treating all speakers fairly and equitably. She later agreed that a rule that council members “shall not respond” could be modified.

City Attorney Sky Woodruff suggested the sentence, “Council members will not generally respond to comments by members of the public.”

Language was also added to say that after any public comment, council members may request staff to follow up on a concern, question, or request heard from a member of the public.

The council approved the new rules and procedures, with Saltzman voting no.