VISION2025
Beginning in the summer of 2002, a series of community wide, regional public meetings were held to discuss Vision2025 and what Tulsa regional citizens wanted to see happen in their community. Over the space of one year, many meetings were held throughout the Tulsa metro area to discuss projects and programs to improve the region. Citizens were asked to submit their ideas and proposals with funding required for implementation to a central leadership team. More than $3 billion in projects were submitted. In the spring of 2003, projects were selected and finalized as part of a county-wide $850 million sales tax initiative voted on and passed in September 2003.

The propositions were divided into four areas of interest and commonality, with each passing by more than a 60 percent margin.

The positive enforcement of a plan for Tulsa including education, both common and higher, community development, attractions, economic development and health care, has resulted in an excitement and enthusiasm in the community that had been waning. This positive attitude led to other economic discussions as well.

Tulsa’s Future
Tulsa’s Future is a privately funded economic development plan with a five-year goal to create 10,000 primary, high-value jobs with salaries of $45,500 or more. The 10,000 primary jobs will lead to the creation of an additional 16,000 indirect jobs totaling the formation of 26,000 jobs within the metro region. In 2006, the Tulsa Metro Chamber assisted in the creation of 4,422 direct jobs—1,592 equaled or exceeded the $45,500 mark. A total of 4,429 indirect jobs were created as well for a grand total of 8,851 jobs. The City of Tulsa is well on its way to continuing to provide its industries with the workforce needed to expand and experience continuous growth in production.

Some of the success stories of this economic development plan involve major expansions from industry leaders including Sinclair Tulsa Refining Company which announced a $1 billon investment for an expansion project to their location in West Tulsa. Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. also opened a $16 million customer development center expecting to employ 300 employees within a year.