City Threatens Fines as Flock Misses Camera Removal Deadline

El Cerrito's City Council meeting Tuesday laid bare two threats bearing down on this small East Bay city: a surveillance company that won't leave and a transit system that may not survive. With only 10 of 40 Flock cameras removed past the contract deadline, the city announced it will begin issuing code enforcement violations — while residents demanded the cameras be physically covered immediately. Separately, a BART director warned the council that without a November 2026 regional sales tax, the transit agency faces a managed decline that could end service as El Cerrito knows it.

• City will issue code enforcement fines to Flock after only 10 of 40 surveillance cameras removed past the Aug. 18 deadline; residents demand cameras be bagged
• BART warns of 9 PM closures, 30-minute frequencies, and 1,200 layoffs if a November 2026 regional transit measure fails — threatening El Cerrito's nearly 7,000 daily riders
• Council approves police and fire chiefs' five-year pay deal 4-1, with lone dissent over $71,643 funded from general fund reserves
• Wheelchair user asks council to mandate automatic doors at Mayfair Station TOD and all future transit-oriented developments
• Fire Safe Council clears 12 hillside properties along critical evacuation routes using a $15,000 state grant and 400+ volunteer hours

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Flock Won't Go: City Escalates to Code Enforcement

Ten cameras down, 30 to go — and the city is done waiting.

Police Chief Paul Keith reported that Flock had removed only 10 of 40 automated license plate reader cameras as of Tuesday's meeting, missing its self-imposed Aug. 18 deadline. The city can no longer access Flock's systems to verify work orders, and nine of the remaining cameras showed signs of vandalism, prompting a police investigation.

"As of yesterday, when we did our inventory, we found that seven cameras had been removed, 33 still remained," said Police Chief Keith, noting three additional removals were confirmed just before the meeting began.

Why it matters: The Flock saga has become a national flashpoint. Public commenter Brian Fogg noted that John Oliver's television show recently covered the issue and other municipalities are following El Cerrito's lead in pushing back against the surveillance company. Residents have formed an organized coalition promoting a no-surveillance pledge at nosurveillancepledge.com ahead of the November election, urging current councilmembers and candidates to commit to opposing warrantless surveillance technology.

Where things stand: City Manager Karen Pincus announced that code enforcement staff would begin preparing violation letters the following day. "Perhaps if us calling attention to this in the media and calling attention to this in public meetings won't work, perhaps some fines might," she said.

Eleven public commenters addressed the council, with the vast majority focused on Flock. Multiple residents — including Ry Crawford, Chelsea Sparti, Kate Bolton, Cindy McPherson, and Megan Steffen — urged the city to physically cover the remaining cameras with Mylar bags, a step other municipalities have taken. Several noted the cameras still display visible infrared LED activity, suggesting they may still be collecting data even though the city's contract has expired.

Public commenter Rebecca Kinney walked all 40 camera locations in a six-hour survey, confirming the chief's count. Public commenter Hank cited between 173,000 and 175,000 searches performed on the cameras by out-of-state and federal agencies in the 73 days since the contract ended — data collected before El Cerrito police lost administrative access.

"This experience really shows how unreliable Flock is and how expensive it is not just to pay a private company like this to be in charge of critical data infrastructure for our city, but also to hold them accountable," said public commenter Megan Steffen, who also called for the city to develop a formal surveillance governance policy through its public safety committee.

What's next: Code enforcement violation letters will go out beginning Aug. 19. The city will continue weekly camera removal inventories. The no-surveillance pledge campaign is expected to intensify ahead of the November election.

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BART Warns: Pass the Tax or Lose the Train

Without a Regional Measure, Service Could End

BART Board Director Bernali Ghosh delivered a stark presentation on the transit agency's financial crisis: remote work has slashed fare revenue from 71% to 32% of operating costs, leaving a projected $370 million-plus annual deficit beginning in fiscal year 2027.

The basics: The proposed November 2026 regional transit measure is a 0.5% sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties (1% in San Francisco), expected to generate $980 million annually. The revenue would not only sustain BART but also fund AC Transit, Muni, Caltrain, WestCat, and other local transit operators.

Why it matters: Nearly 7,000 BART trips end in El Cerrito on an average weekday — the third-highest total of any city in the East Bay after Oakland and Berkeley. Losing reliable service would hit transit-dependent residents hardest and send thousands of additional cars onto already congested corridors.

Where things stand: If the measure fails, BART's alternative service plan would close the system at 9 p.m., reduce operations to just three lines (yellow, blue, and orange) running at 30-minute frequencies, close up to 15 stations, impose 50% fare and parking fee increases, and lay off approximately 1,200 employees. Ghosh noted BART has already cut $516 million in operating costs and $549 million in capital costs since 2019, and that June 2026 ridership was 18.6% higher than June 2025. Crime has dropped 41% year over year.

Councilmember Lisa Montoyama asked about the Richmond line's fate under the alternative plan. "It was really bleak when I saw it in the packet and I did not realize that potentially our Richmond line would be one of the lines to go," she said. She confirmed that the El Cerrito Plaza transit-oriented development — 743 units planned, with 70 affordable housing units already under construction and a $24 million state grant for bike, pedestrian, and parking improvements — would continue even if BART went bankrupt.

Councilmember William Ktsanes raised concerns about parking access as lots are reduced for TOD construction, noting he has been unable to find a parking spot at BART.

The other side: There is no organized opposition to the measure recorded in the meeting, but Mayor Gabriel Quinto flagged a practical challenge: 14 tax measures will be on the November 2026 ballot, creating competition for voter attention and approval.

Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Saltzman warned the stakes go beyond budget math. "The likelihood is after the first year of cuts or the second year of cuts that BART will have to figure out how to wind down service and have kind of a managed decline of BART," she said. "That is what we are facing — the end of BART if this measure doesn't pass."

Mayor Quinto drove the point home for viewers: "The people watching you think I-80 is crowded now — wait till this does not pass. We will have gridlock on the 80 and San Pablo Avenue day and night and especially on weekends." He urged Director Ghosh to present at the Contra Costa Mayors Conference to build regional support.

What's next: The regional transit measure goes before voters in November 2026. Council expressed unanimous support.

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Chiefs Get Five-Year Pay Deal; Lone Dissent Signals Fiscal Rift

HR Manager Shannon Bassey presented a five-year memorandum of understanding covering the Police Chief and Fire Chief bargaining units under the Public Safety Management Association, running from July 2025 through June 2030.

The basics: The MOU eliminates the old control point salary system and establishes clear bottom and top salary steps based on market data from a 2024 classification and compensation study. Key terms include 3% annual cost-of-living adjustments, a 2.4% market adjustment built into salary grade ranges (not applied to current incumbents), and an increase in the Fire Chief's education incentive from 5.5% to 7.5% for his doctorate. The deal requires a $71,643 appropriation from the general fund unassigned balance to cover retroactive costs and current-year increases. Kensington pays one-third of all fire personnel costs.

Why it matters: The lone dissenting vote exposed a philosophical split on the council about fiscal discipline that could shape upcoming labor negotiations and budget decisions.

"I have absolutely no objection to the pay increase. I have an objection to paying for it from the reserves," said Councilmember Ktsanes, who cast the only no vote.

Councilmember Montoyama shared concerns about the approach. "I just want us to be very careful about how much we can dive into the general fund reserve because these are ongoing costs, they're not one-time costs," she said, requesting trending analysis and before-and-after budget comparisons. She also asked whether future MOUs could require electric vehicles.

Mayor Pro Tem Saltzman pushed back on the timing of the objection. "I just think it would be more helpful to bring those things up earlier because then we could have time to have some consideration about entertaining any ideas you have of how to offset costs," she said.

City Manager Pincus explained that bringing the $71,643 appropriation to council in real time — rather than bundling it at mid-year — represents a shift toward greater financial transparency. "In the past, this might have been something that we may not have brought to the council as it happened. We might have waited until mid-year and made adjustments at that time," she said.

Public commenter Megan Steffen weighed in during the item's public comment period, noting that principled opposition to deficit spending must be accompanied by concrete proposals. "To be against deficit spending, you must also be pro cutting something — and pro cutting something concrete," she said.

Decisions: The MOU passed 4-1 (For: Mayor Quinto, Mayor Pro Tem Saltzman, Councilmember Montoyama, Councilmember Wysinger; Against: Councilmember Ktsanes; Absent: 0).

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Wheelchair User Demands Accessible Doors at Transit Housing

Public commenter Ryan Manriquez, a wheelchair user, AmeriCorps member, and Social Security/EBT recipient living at Mayfair Station TOD near El Cerrito del Norte BART, described an eight-month reasonable accommodation process that ended with him being told to pay out of pocket for automatic door operators — a cost he cannot afford on a fixed income.

"I am being asked, as one disabled resident on a fixed income, to bear the cost of accessibility for our entire community. And that is wrong. And it is exactly the kind of barrier that drives disabled people out of transit-oriented neighborhoods," he said.

Why it matters: With nearly 400 additional market-rate units in the El Cerrito Plaza TOD pipeline, setting accessibility standards now could prevent costly retrofits and ensure disabled residents can live independently near BART.

Manriquez asked the council to intervene with Mayfair Station's ownership to install the door at the building's expense, and to require ADA-compliant automatic door access as a baseline feature in all new TOD within El Cerrito's jurisdiction — embedded in design standards and the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan before remaining El Cerrito Plaza phases proceed. Public commenters Kate Bolton and Marianne Dewely echoed his request.

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Volunteers Clear Hillside Escape Routes Before Fire Season

Gary Prost of the El Cerrito Fire Safe Council reported that a $15,000 California Fire Foundation/PG&E grant — the only one awarded in all of Contra Costa and Alameda counties — funded vegetation clearing along Rifle Range, Club View, and Vista roads, the only two exit points for hundreds of hillside homes.

With assistance from Fire Marshal Beckman, the team identified 16 properties; 12 were mitigated within budget and ahead of schedule. A volunteer subcommittee logged more than 400 hours removing Monterey pines, redwoods, junipers, and a 120-foot eucalyptus. Two homeowners contributed $6,500 combined toward the large eucalyptus removal, and four additional homeowners contracted their own work after seeing the project results. The country club and Park Summit HOA also hired contractors for recommended clearing.

Fire Safe Council President Sue Duncan warned at the meeting that wildfire embers can travel more than two miles, putting all of El Cerrito at risk — not just hillside neighborhoods. Council members praised the volunteer effort as a replicable model for wildfire preparedness in the wildland-urban interface.

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Minor Items

• Consent calendar passed 5-0, including monthly disbursement and check register approval, a waste management authority JPA amendment, a trash can purchase, a hillside fuel reduction contract, swim center maintenance agreement, and a $3.8 million insurance premium payment.
• IT Manager Eric Ng clarified a $58,000 laptop purchase included in the consent calendar's check register.
• Public commenter Mike McDougall praised the city for National Night Out and requested that findings from the ad hoc committee on boards and commissions be agendized at the next meeting.
• Public commenter Joshua Saunders, a visually impaired resident, and public commenter Marianne Dewely, who is hard of hearing, requested a 15 mph speed limit on the Ohlone Greenway to address safety concerns from fast-moving scooters and bicycles. The greenway currently has no posted speed limit.
• Mayor Quinto noted the city's finances are in a stronger position than when it was state-audited, and announced that the Local Road Safety Plan is in a draft comment period and a parking management survey is underway for El Cerrito Plaza.