El Cerrito Unanimously Picks Five Districts, Deadlocks on Library Hours in Budget Crunch

El Cerrito's City Council made a landmark decision on its electoral future, voting unanimously for five council districts with a rotating mayor — permanently reshaping how the city's 26,000 residents will choose their representatives starting in 2028. But the night's other defining moment was an impasse: the council could not agree on whether to cut $100,000 in extended library hours, the single largest unresolved item standing between a 28% and 30% reserve floor as a June 19 budget deadline looms.

• Council votes 5-0 for five election districts with a rotating mayor, rejecting a directly elected mayor over concerns about fundraising barriers, power concentration and campaign costs
• Budget deadlock on library hours — Councilmember Lisa Montoyama proposes cutting $100K in extended evening hours; Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Saltzman calls them essential for working families
• Master fee schedule adopted with tree planting fee slashed from $533 to $150 to encourage property owners to plant street trees legally
• SEIU 1021 warns five community development positions remain unfilled, with the union's 16% vacancy rate approaching a state-mandated 20% alarm threshold
• Financial Advisory Board sets a 26% reserve floor after failing to win support for 28% or 30% minimums
• MCE Clean Energy reports a 14% rate cut and expands its virtual power plant pilot across its full service area