El CerritoNot a ballot

How El Cerrito is run

Who runs El Cerrito, what it costs, and where your money goes

The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from El Cerrito's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.

Who runs El Cerrito

A city manager appointed by the council runs the city day to day and manages all departments. The five council members, elected citywide to staggered four-year terms, set policy, pass ordinances and adopt the budget. Each year the council picks one of its members to serve as mayor.

City of El Cerrito · Dec 21, 2025

What they are paid

City manager Karen Pinkos: base pay$302,8202026-07-05. $25,235 a month on the city salary schedule effective July 5, 2026, after a 5% raise on April 1, 2026 and 3% on July 5, 2026. Her contract set $21,782 a month from January 1, 2025, plus 4% on July 1, 2025. City of El Cerrito · Jul 5, 2026
In the contract
  • Contract runs through December 31, 2029; merit raises of up to 5% each January are possible
  • Twelve months' base salary as severance if fired without cause or not renewed
  • $450 a month car allowance
  • City pays the legal maximum into her 457 deferred compensation account
  • $300 a month to a retiree health savings account
  • CalPERS pension; she pays an extra 3% of the employer's contribution
A council memberNot confirmedFY2026-27. City of El Cerrito · May 19, 2026
The mayorNot confirmedFY2026-27. Not confirmed in a document we could read. City of El Cerrito · Dec 21, 2025
Council benefits
  • Up to $5,000 a year per member for travel and training, plus $5,000 for the mayor

El Cerrito city staff

170 full-time-equivalent positions, including Public safety (police and fire) 86, Public works 27, General government 22, Recreation 20, Community development 15. FY2024-25. Full-time equivalent positions in FY2024-25, from the budget's position listing. Public safety (police and fire) has 85.5 of them. City of El Cerrito · Dec 21, 2025

The city posts its salary schedules, union agreements and the city manager's contract. We found no city list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.

Is El Cerrito in the red?

Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.

General fund, FY2026-27$57.7MOut of $96.4M across all city funds, which includes utilities and other money that can only be spent on one thing. City of El Cerrito · Jun 16, 2026
Savings grew, FY2024-25 (audited)+$1.4MGeneral fund revenue $54.1M, spending $51.7M. Revenue exceeded spending by $2.4 million. After $1.26 million of transfers out to support other funds, the general fund balance rose $1.36 million to $24.3 million. City of El Cerrito · Dec 21, 2025

The city's own outlook

The budget's long-range forecast shows spending growing faster than revenue starting in FY2028-29, driven by rising CalPERS unfunded liability payments and insurance costs, before those pressures ease in the mid-2030s. To balance the two-year budget the council cut programs and services. The city projects total general fund reserves of $21.1 million in FY2026-27 and $20.9 million in FY2027-28. City of El Cerrito · Jun 16, 2026

Savings against the city's own target

Unassigned general fund balance: $21.1M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep 17% of projected general fund operating spending as an unrestricted operating reserve, plus 13% in a separate emergency fund (the EDRF), 30% in all. On June 30, 2025 the audit shows $7.5 million in the EDRF and $13.6 million of other unassigned balance. The budget projects the unassigned reserve at 18% in FY2026-27 and 16% in FY2027-28. City of El Cerrito · Dec 21, 2025

Pension promises not yet funded$83.1MNet pension liability for the city's CalPERS miscellaneous ($24.2 million) and safety ($59.0 million) plans, from the city's audited report, measured June 30, 2024. The city also holds about $3 million in a Section 115 pension trust and does not plan to draw on it in FY2026-27 or FY2027-28. (2024-06-30). City of El Cerrito · Dec 21, 2025
Debt owed$13.7MCity (governmental): 2017 lease revenue bonds for City Hall $4.9M, 2017 sales tax revenue bonds for streets $5.9M, bond premiums $1.0M, and financed purchases (fire engine, solar, equipment) $1.5M. Recycling (business-type): $0.4M. 2025-06-30. City of El Cerrito · Dec 21, 2025

Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.

Where the money comes from and goes

The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.

Comes from

  • Taxes (property, sales, utility users, property transfer, business)$40.3M · 69%
  • Charges for services$7.4M · 13%
  • Intergovernmental (mostly Kensington fire contract)$6M · 10%
  • Non-departmental revenue$2M · 4%
  • Licenses and permits$1.2M · 2%
  • Other (fines, interest, rents, other)$1.4M · 2%

City of El Cerrito · Jun 16, 2026

Goes to (FY2026-27)

  • Fire (incl. Kensington contract service)$17.3M · 30%
  • Police$16.6M · 29%
  • Recreation$6.9M · 12%
  • Administration (council, manager, clerk, attorney, finance, HR, IT)$6.5M · 11%
  • Non-departmental$3.5M · 6%
  • Other (community development, public works)$6.7M · 12%

City of El Cerrito · Jun 16, 2026

Your property tax bill: who gets it

Every property pays the 1% base levy, which the county collects and shares; the city's budget summary says El Cerrito receives 22% of it. Voter-approved add-ons for schools, BART, the community college and regional parks bring the total to about 1.28%.

0¢

of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of El Cerrito

  • 1% base levy (shared by the county, city, schools and others)The city receives 22% of it1 · 78%
  • West Contra Costa Unified School District0.2489 · 19%
  • BART0.0148 · 1%
  • Contra Costa Community College District0.0142 · 1%
  • East Bay Regional Park District0.0013 · <1%
  • Total (percent of assessed value)1.2792

FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of El Cerrito (Contra Costa County). City of El Cerrito · Dec 21, 2025

See what a El Cerrito home costs each year, line by line →

Who provides your services

Not everything in El Cerrito is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.

Compared with similar cities

The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.

Imperial BeachCABeniciaCAEurekaCAEl CerritoCA
Residents26,06626,07426,16326,166
Top administrator's base pay$262,668$242,534Not confirmed$302,820
Council member pay$11,400Not confirmed$6,000Not confirmed
General fund per resident$1,231$2,603$1,703$2,203
Debt per resident$19$831$885$524
Unfunded pension per resident$495$3,547$2,502$3,177
City staff per 1,000 residents4.88.410.16.5

Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Imperial Beach and El Cerrito pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.

What El Cerrito publishes

What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.

Questions to ask your council

  1. The budget projects the unassigned reserve at 18% in FY2026-27 and 16% in FY2027-28, against a 17% target. What would bring it back to the target?
  2. The forecast shows spending outpacing revenue from FY2028-29, and net pension liability was $83.1 million. When would the council draw on the $3 million pension trust?
  3. Fire is the largest general fund line at $17.3 million, and the Kensington contract covers about 30% of fire department costs. How often is that cost split reviewed?
  4. The city manager's base pay is $302,820 a year after raises in April and July 2026, and her contract allows up to 5% more each January. How does the council measure her results?

See who is running for council

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