City Club Research Report: Participatory Budgeting for Portland
What nine months of independent research found.
In March 2025, City Club of Portland — the century-old civic research organization — published Participatory Budgeting for Portland, a comprehensive study by a volunteer committee that examined PB programs across the country and heard testimony from advocates, including the sponsors of this measure. Download the full report (PDF).
What the report concludes
City Club concluded Portland should explore participatory budgeting, but not in the way Measure 26-267 mandates.
The report's findings:
Portland should pursue a pilot, not enact a permanent mandate. The report recommends Portland start with a carefully designed pilot program, adapted to the city — not a permanent, citywide charter obligation adopted before the city has run a single process.
Measure 26-267’s model is “nearly unprecedented.” The committee searched for any U.S. city that had institutionalized citywide PB through a charter change or citizen initiative with dedicated funding, and found the approach "nearly unprecedented in the U.S. and difficult to justify from the available evidence."
Not a quick fix. PB "is not automatically successful, does not lend itself to one-size-fits-all implementation," and "requires strategic and informed decision-making at the local level."
The bottom line
The most thorough independent review ever conducted of participatory budgeting for Portland recommends the opposite of what Measure 26-267 does: learn first, start small, keep flexibility. The measure locks in the money first and leaves the details for later.
Click the button below to read or download the full report from City Club of Portland’s website.