For years, El Cerrito's City Manager and City Council have mishandled the city budget. Nearly one third of our annual budget goes to the El Cerrito Police Department, and the city spends more per capita on police than 94% of other jurisdictions in the US. In 2021, the California State Auditor called on the city to make budget reductions across the board, including by reducing the police budget.
Fair Budget El Cerrito is a campaign of the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America, led by El Cerrito residents organizing to push the City Council to meet this budget crisis not by cutting essential city services but by reducing our bloated police budget and city management salaries. You can read more about East Bay DSA at
www.eastbaydsa.org and our campaign at
https://www.eastbaydsa.org/campaigns/fair-budget-el-cerrito/Sign the below statement if you agree! We want to send the petition to City Council and the City Manager by early June.
Dear El Cerrito City Council and Manager,
We, the undersigned El Cerrito residents, call on the City of El Cerrito to redirect funds away from the police department, and increase funding for resources and services that meet community needs.