What is Participatory Budgeting?
A democratic process where community members directly decide how to spend public money
Tulsa Decides is a community-led experiment, not an official City of Tulsa program. We're testing whether participatory budgeting could work in Tulsa by gathering community priorities and proposals. The ideas generated here will be presented to city leadership as community recommendations—this is about building civic voice, not making binding budget decisions.
How Participatory Budgeting Works
Participatory budgeting (PB) gives residents a direct vote on how to spend public funds. Instead of elected officials making all spending decisions, community members propose ideas, develop projects, and vote on what gets funded.
How Tulsa Decides Voting Will Work
When voting opens in March 2026, registered participants will be able to:
- Review proposals submitted by fellow Tulsans during the Propose phase
- Select your priorities by voting for the projects you believe would most benefit Tulsa
- Build community support by discussing and endorsing proposals you care about
The proposals with the most community support will be compiled into a presentation for city leadership, demonstrating what Tulsans want to see prioritized in future budgets.
Who Can Participate?
- Tulsa residents (verification via SMS)
- People who work in Tulsa
- Anyone invested in Tulsa's future
Real Participatory Budgeting in Action
Participatory budgeting has been successfully implemented in cities across the United States. Here's how it works in practice:
Denver's "People's Budget" program lets residents in specific neighborhoods vote on local improvements. In 2024, west Denver residents chose from 14 community-generated ideas, with over 2,000 ballots cast. Winning projects included intersection safety improvements ($356K), community gardens ($244K), and park trees ($181K). Residents vote for their top 3 choices, and funding goes to the highest-voted projects.
PBNYC is the largest participatory budgeting program in the U.S. Residents ages 11 and up—regardless of immigration status—can vote on capital projects for schools, parks, libraries, and public spaces. Community members first submit ideas, then volunteer "Budget Delegates" work with city agencies to develop feasible proposals. During Vote Week, New Yorkers choose up to 5 projects they want funded.
What Makes PB Different?
- Community-generated ideas: Proposals come from residents, not politicians or bureaucrats
- Transparent process: Everyone can see what's proposed and how votes are counted
- Direct democracy: Your vote directly determines what gets funded
- Inclusive participation: Many programs include youth, non-citizens, and traditionally excluded groups
Why We're Running This Experiment
Tulsa doesn't currently have participatory budgeting. We believe it could:
- Give residents a stronger voice in how tax dollars are spent
- Surface community priorities that may not reach City Hall
- Build civic engagement and trust in local government
- Demonstrate demand for more participatory democracy in Tulsa
By running this experiment, we're gathering data on what Tulsans want and showing city leadership that our community is ready for participatory budgeting.