The People's Budget

After months of outreach planning, idea collection, proposal devlopment - the vote results are in for the People's Budget! Check out the Press Release below for details on the winnings project and next steps.

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Winning Projects Announced for The People’s Budget, Seattle’s $27M Participatory Budgeting Process

Six projects proposals will be funded following ranked choice voting process which centered communities most often left out of decision making

(Seattle, WA) – The People’s Budget, Seattle’s historic participatory budgeting (PB) process, wrapped up voting on Sunday November 12th with over 4,000 votes cast! The modified ranked choice process gave people who live, work, or play in Seattle the opportunity to vote on 18 ballot items by selecting their top four proposals. Five winning projects will be fully funded and the remainder of the $27.25 million will be allocated to the 6th place project. The top six projects are:

• Native Youth: Past, Present, Future ($7,200,000) 
• Focus Area: Youth & Children
• A Duwamish centered community center would offer recreational, educational, and cultural programs that foster community engagement, promote well-being, and support cultural preservation. It will serve as a vibrant hub of activity, facilitating connections within the urban native community, while also extending a warm welcome to individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• People Not Police Crisis Response Team ($2,000,000)
• Focus Area: Crisis and Wellness
• Funding for trained mental health professionals to be first responders to mental health crises. Marginalized community members are more likely to be harmed when police respond to mental health crises, public outbursts (usually need- or trauma-driven), or behaviors not always explained or understood. A culturally competent, trauma-informed, compassion-based, peer-supported response promises better outcomes, long and short term.
• 24/7 Public Restrooms ($7,200,000)
• Focus Area: Housing and Physical Space
• Increasing the number of 24-hour bathrooms and hygiene facilities.
• Urban Farming and Food Equity ($7,000,000)
• Focus Area: Economic Development
• Leasing green spaces for community food production, fostering locally owned businesses, increasing access to fresh food, and training small-scale farmers.
• Housing Support ($2,000,000) 
• Focus Area: Housing and Physical Space
• Providing housing navigation and assistance services to those in need. Special emphasis shall be put on supportive services for Tiny Home Villages.
• Housing Support for Youth (funded at $1.8M, proposed at $2M)
• Focus Area: Crisis and Wellness
• Connect youth and young adults with supportive housing or rental assistance, while also convening and compensating a youth committee to oversee outreach efforts and resource connections.
  
  

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. It puts real decision making power into the hands of community members and transforms democracy. Seattle is home to one of the largest participatory budgeting processes in the nation, The People’s Budget. The Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) and PBP acknowledge and appreciate the dedication and advocacy of the community members, community engagement partner organizations, and the broader Seattle community for investing valuable time, expertise, and resources to this process as well as the decades of community organizing and advocacy which made this process to give community members power to decide on how to spend $27.25 million of the city’s budget possible.

"My hope for the long-term impact of the Seattle PB process is that the initial skepticism transforms into a lasting sense of empowerment.” said People’s Fellow, Hanna, “The $27 million allocated is not just a one-time opportunity but a testament to the trust in our community's collective wisdom. As we, the youth, actively engage in shaping Seattle's future, I hope we are able to understand the significance in our efforts and recognize its value. Lastly, I am so excited to see the winning proposals come to fruition! For the ones that weren’t selected, however, I hope that current and future elected officials acknowledge them and take the ideas of the community seriously as they represent the different voices in our community. Doing so is key to making sure everyone is a part of bettering Seattle’s future." 

There were 18 project proposals on the ballot, across five key focus areas that the community identified through participatory action research led by the Black Brilliance Research Project: Housing and Physical Spaces, Mental Health, Youth & Children, Economic Development, and Crisis & Wellness. 

As Elaine Simons, one of the Budget Delegates reflected: "It was an honor to work with the budget delegates in proposal development for the participatory budgeting process. We used thorough vetting and ranking systems, spoke from our truth, and practiced deep listening in order to move through hundreds of ideas and craft project proposals for the ballot that brought in all of the intersections of our lived experiences. We researched and connected with entities within and outside of the state of Washington to review possibilities for how to realistically move forward the proposed work. Out of that process, we were able to create strong, viable proposals, and now the community engaged in participatory budgeting must continue to be engaged in a meaningful way in bringing these projects into fruition."

Budgets for proposed capital project ideas (to build new facilities or to renovate existing facilities) were all between $2-7.2 million dollars while proposals for programs and services had a budget cost window of $500,000 - $2 million dollars, details about the projects on the ballot can be found here. 

“Every proposal on the ballot included tangible impacts for communities which are too often ignored” says PB Community Engagement Director Telitha Floyd, “the people of Seattle have made their voices heard, come together to create a vision for the future for our city where everyone can thrive. The power of the community is undeniable and participatory budgeting is a testament to the commitment, innovation, and brilliance of the people of Seattle.”

PBP and SOCR want to extend our gratitude to every community member, organization, and collaborator in this process for their essential contributions, including: The People’s Budget Steering Committee and Community Jury, The People’s Budget Delegates, The People’s Budget Working Groups: Outreach and Lived Experience Working Group, Budget and Facilitators Working Group, and The Restorative and Proactive Safety Working Group and the Black Brilliance Research Project. We’d also like to share appreciation to The Seattle Office for Civil Rights staff, City of Seattle staff, Seattle City Council, the Seattle Mayor’s Office, the Participatory Budgeting Project team, and the City Reviewers/Interdepartmental Team & Leadership. Of course none of this work would be possible without the commitment of our Community Engagement Partners, Abundance of Hope Care Center, BLKMAMAS, Colorful Communities LLC, Community Passageways, Danitra Hunter, Duwamish Tribal Services, Somali Family Safety Task Force, Sync Seattle, The Elite Collective, Washington Multicultural Services Link, Rhapsody Project, Liberated Village, Skate Like a Girl, and East African Community Services.

A special thank you to The Seattle People’s Fellows, a group of young people who worked tirelessly to ensure an equitable and accessible process. 

"Through this PB process, I’ve learned that when people feel seen, heard, and empowered they are so eager to participate.” shared People’s Fellow, Aleyanna, “Seeing the generational excitement to share ideas has been so beautiful to me. You have grandmothers speaking into existence ideas they’ve had for decades, then finding out their grandkids can participate as well and encouraging them to share. There’s never a shortage of brilliance when that brilliance is uplifted and honored." 

Now that the votes have been cast, we will move to the implementation phase of the PB process. The Office for Civil Rights oversaw the third-party administrator contract with PBP and will help coordinate project implementation for the City. 

“Seattle’s investment in PB is the largest in the nation to equitably invest in community-driven solutions addressing police violence and deep disparities caused by systemic racism.” said Seattle Office for Civil Rights Director Derrick Wheeler-Smith. “Participatory Budgeting moves us closer to organizing systems and structures that increase agency for the underrepresented groups in Seattle. It’s been said that the people closest to the problems are closest to the solution but the furthest away from resources and power. PB gets more people into decision making spaces, increasing co-creation, lifting perspectives we aren’t proximate to and challenging us to expand our collective win story.”

Keep an eye on pbseattle.org for the most up to date announcements and updates, as well as more details about the vote results and ranked choice voting. Do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.

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 The Participatory Budgeting Project is a non-profit organization that advocates for and supports participatory budgeting (PB) processes that deepen democracy, build stronger communities, and make public budgets more equitable and effective. Over the past 14 years, PBP has partnered with hundreds of organizations to learn about, advocate for, implement and iterate participatory budgeting in cities across the United States and Canada, helping over 740,000 people to directly decide how to spend $400 million in public funds. We have supported 85% of PB processes nationwide. 

Contact: Rahel Teka, rahel@participatorybudgeting.org

The Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) works to advance civil rights and end barriers to equity. SOCR enforces laws against illegal discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and contracting within Seattle city limits. SOCR leads the Race & Social Justice Initiative, a citywide effort to end institutional racism in City government and to achieve racial equity across our community.

More details on the winning projects: