A monthly civic recap
Council, Decoded
Once a month, in under five minutes: what Berkeley’s City Council actually did with your money. The dollars that moved, three items worth knowing, and what’s on the horizon — in plain language, drawn straight from the council agenda.
What each issue covers
The same five-part spine, every month
- The one-line hookA single concrete figure or decision from this month’s agenda — the thing a resident would find surprising or useful.
- The numbers, decodedThe month’s money in plain language: new spending, incoming revenue, pass-through (collected but not spent), and the net impact on city spending.
- Three items worth knowingThree specific agenda items — who’s getting paid, for what, and why it matters — chosen for relevance, not dollar size.
- On the horizonThe policy referrals with no dollars attached yet — where next year’s spending and policy are heading.
- What it meansA short read on the through-line: what the month tells you about how the city sets priorities and spends.
How it’s built. Roughly 80% of each issue comes straight from the council agenda, parsed into structured spending, revenue, and referral data. The judgment — what mattered, what to watch — is added by hand. Every figure traces back to the dated agenda packet.
Issues
Newest first
- The first monthly issue publishes with the next Council cycle.
The back catalog. Before the monthly recap, this Hub tracked the budget agenda week by week. Those dated Budget Agenda Scans are the raw material the monthly issues are built from — and remain the permanent record.