Berkeley Considers

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The City of Berkeley (the “City”) has partnered with OpenGov, a third-party online forum provider, to create a civic engagement platform named “Berkeley Considers” that will allow the residents of Berkeley to get more involved in City government. Berkeley Considers is a forum for the discussion of proposed City projects and upcoming policy topics related to local government in the City and its partner agencies. The topics are generated by City staff or the City Council Agenda Committee for the purpose of public participation in current government decision making.

To ensure that all voices are heard and that forum participants are able to speak freely about the posted topics, participants who register to use the forum must agree to not post disruptive statements. Disruptive statements include the following:

Statements that do not relate to the posted topic;
Personal attacks and statements that threaten or abuse other forum participants, members of the public, City staff or City officials;
Hate speech; Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation;
Statements containing any sort of commercial advertising or soliciting funds for commercial purposes;
Statement from users who have falsified their registration information with the intent to post multiple statements in one topic or to misrepresent their city of residence; and
Statements that include obscene, pornographic, abusive, or otherwise illegal material.
Private, personal information published without consent of the individual identified;
Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party;
Information that is likely to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;
Campaigning with respect to candidates or ballot measures
Direct advocacy with respect to specific candidates for elected office,;
Incitement of illegal activity;
Photos or other images that fall in any of the above categories; and
Hyperlinks to material that falls in any of the above categories.

OpenGov, acting as the forum monitor, will remove any disruptive statements that are posted on the forum. Forum participants who post disruptive statements may lose their posting privileges.

Frequently asked questions about the participation guidelines

Why does Open Town Hall monitor for disruptive statements?

OpenGov is a non-partisan company dedicated to building public trust in government through the broadening of civic engagement. It is OpenGov’s and the City of Berkeley’s experience that many people who would otherwise participate in governmental forums, such as City Council meetings, will not participate, if the result is that they are subjected to abuse or insult, or if the forum itself is disrupted.

Does Open Town Hall find many disruptive statements?

No. Disruptive statements are quite rare - less than one in a thousand statements on topics moderated by OpenGov nationwide are disruptive.

What does Open Town Hall do if they find a disruptive statement?

OpenGov:

moves the statement to an unpublished area,
describes the problem in an email to the author, and
invites the author to change the statement or invites the author to email it directly to the City Council without changes

Does Open Town Hall ever edit statements?

No. Only a statement's author can edit a statement. If a statement is removed from the Berkeley Considers public website, it will still be seen by the City of Berkeley and be part of the public record.

If I disagree with someone, can I post my opinion?

Yes. Open Town Hall encourages open dialog and debate which, by necessity, includes disagreements. Statements of fact, or of your own opinion are generally not personal attacks.

How do I know if my statement is a 'disagreement' or a 'personal attack'?

Here are some examples of statements which are, and are not, personal attacks.

Personal Attack	Not A Personal Attack
He lied.	He said he did X, but in fact he did Y.
She misrepresented the truth.	I don't believe what she said.
He is greedy.	He is making money from this project.
It is merely a power play on her part.	She will announce her candidacy soon.

How do I communicate with Council members directly?

All messages sent to [email protected] are received unfiltered by all councilmembers and are published with agenda packets. All emails sent to that address include your email address and any personal information you may include with that message.

Get registered statements in your RSS reader or emailed to you as a daily digest.

A statement is registered if it is claimed, verified and civil:

It is claimed if its author has claimed the statement by signing in before or shortly after submitting the statement.
It is verified if it is claimed and its author has provided their street address in their registration and verified their email address by clicking the verification link emailed by Community Feedback.
It is civil if it is verified and it meets the guidelines for civility.

If any of these conditions are not met, then the statement is unregistered.

Statements are emailed at most once per day (in the morning).

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Check out some recent Registered Statements from forum participants

[Mosaic Art Proposals for MLK YAP Wall] 5 questions answered

Name not available inside City Council Districts August 1, 2025, 4:38 PM

What is your zip code? 94707
Does the proposed artwork provide an enriching welcome to teens, young adults, visitors, staff, and community members?
Does the proposed artwork promote neighborhood connections, a sense of belonging, inclusivity, and play?
Does this proposed artwork relate meaningfully to the project site. For example, by complementing the youth center’s programming; responding to the building’s architecture; reflecting the surrounding community or culture; referencing the park’s history; or harmonizing with natural environment?
Do you have any feedback or comments? Dreamers and Rhythmic Unity best for youth site. Negative for all is zero recognition of neighborhood history of vibrant Japanese community before internment. Vote for a design that uses all mosaic pieces; NOT tile or combo mosaic and paint.

[Mosaic Art Proposals for MLK YAP Wall] 3 questions answered

Name not available inside City Council Districts August 1, 2025, 12:14 PM

What is your zip code? 94703
Does the proposed artwork promote neighborhood connections, a sense of belonging, inclusivity, and play?
Does this proposed artwork relate meaningfully to the project site. For example, by complementing the youth center’s programming; responding to the building’s architecture; reflecting the surrounding community or culture; referencing the park’s history; or harmonizing with natural environment?

[Mosaic Art Proposals for MLK YAP Wall] 5 questions answered

Angela Guerrero inside City Council Districts August 1, 2025, 8:53 AM

What is your zip code? 94703
Does the proposed artwork provide an enriching welcome to teens, young adults, visitors, staff, and community members?
Does the proposed artwork promote neighborhood connections, a sense of belonging, inclusivity, and play?
Does this proposed artwork relate meaningfully to the project site. For example, by complementing the youth center’s programming; responding to the building’s architecture; reflecting the surrounding community or culture; referencing the park’s history; or harmonizing with natural environment?
Do you have any feedback or comments? THE DREAMERS IS A GREAT TITLE N IT GIVES THE CHILDREN BEAUTIFUL ART WORK TO LOOK AT N DREAM OF BECOMING WHATEVER THEIR HEART DESIRES "DREAMS DO COME TRUE WITH DEDICATION N COMMITMENT

[Mosaic Art Proposals for MLK YAP Wall] 4 questions answered

Name not available inside City Council Districts August 1, 2025, 7:42 AM

[Mosaic Art Proposals for MLK YAP Wall] 4 questions answered

Name not available inside City Council Districts July 31, 2025, 7:59 PM

[Mosaic Art Proposals for MLK YAP Wall] 4 questions answered

Name not available inside City Council Districts July 31, 2025, 7:13 PM

[Mosaic Art Proposals for MLK YAP Wall] 5 questions answered

Name not shown inside City Council Districts July 31, 2025, 6:42 PM

[Mosaic Art Proposals for MLK YAP Wall] 5 questions answered

Name not available inside City Council Districts July 31, 2025, 6:26 PM

What is your zip code? 94703
Does the proposed artwork provide an enriching welcome to teens, young adults, visitors, staff, and community members?
Does the proposed artwork promote neighborhood connections, a sense of belonging, inclusivity, and play?
Does this proposed artwork relate meaningfully to the project site. For example, by complementing the youth center’s programming; responding to the building’s architecture; reflecting the surrounding community or culture; referencing the park’s history; or harmonizing with natural environment?
Do you have any feedback or comments? All mosaics are beautiful I really love Moses Ball "The Dreamers"

[Mosaic Art Proposals for MLK YAP Wall] 5 questions answered

Name not available inside City Council Districts July 31, 2025, 5:35 PM

What is your zip code? 94703
Does the proposed artwork provide an enriching welcome to teens, young adults, visitors, staff, and community members?
Does the proposed artwork promote neighborhood connections, a sense of belonging, inclusivity, and play?
Does this proposed artwork relate meaningfully to the project site. For example, by complementing the youth center’s programming; responding to the building’s architecture; reflecting the surrounding community or culture; referencing the park’s history; or harmonizing with natural environment?
Do you have any feedback or comments? Pick "The Dreamers" - you have to put people that are from the neighborhood on the mural because it's not only for the now generation but for future generations and the families they're representing! Give them the opportunity to represent their neighborhood not by colors or gangs but by dreaming.

[Mosaic Art Proposals for MLK YAP Wall] 4 questions answered

Name not available inside City Council Districts July 31, 2025, 5:11 PM