02-26-2025 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 Introduction and Background Background of City Inclusion Initiative The City Council completed a strategic planning process in 2019 that established a vision for the community and identified steps the city will take to achieve that vision. Four strategic directions were developed: Enhancing Identity and Empowering the Community, Maximizing our Assets to Catalyze Development, Creating Operational Efficiency, and Mandating Action and Accountability. Within all four strategic directions, goals and action items were identified. In 2022, the City Council directed staff to update the existing 2019 strategic plan. Since 2022, staff has worked to complete initiatives outlined within April 2022 strategic plan update, including a “DEI Initiative.” In October 2023, city staff began working to understand what a “DEI Initiative” in the City of Little Canada would look like. Staff engaged the League of Minnesota Cities to introduce Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training for all staff, City Council members, and leadership team members. On February 14, 2024, staff presented a DEI Introduction at a City Council Workshop, including an overview of city-wide demographics and a preview for the Introduction to DEI training for the City Council/leadership team (February 28, 2024) and all staff (March 4, 2024). Following both trainings, on April 10, staff and City Council discussed proposed next steps for the city’s inclusion journey. Staff proposed steps, including the creation of an internal inclusion committee and an external inclusion team, to prepare for the 2025 strategic planning process. The City Council outlined their desire to better understand our community through the lens of welcoming and inclusion. The City Council provided unanimous support to develop both an internal and external inclusion team. Community Inclusion Team The city began advertising for Community Inclusion Team members in the July/August/September 2024 Le Petit Canadien, the quarterly paper newsletter. In addition to the quarterly newsletter, participants were recruited through a number of channels including through direct solicitation, social media, website, e-communications, flyers throughout the community, and outreach to community organizations, businesses, and schools. The Community Inclusion Team met monthly from July to February 2025. While not paid for time, expenses for participation in this team (daycare, transportation, etc.) were advertised to be reimbursable. Seven community members with diverse backgrounds and two city staff representatives served on the Community Inclusion Team. The Community Inclusion Team played a crucial role in: • Outreach around inclusion • Developing survey questions • Identifying community members and organizations to individually interview • Shaping youth engagement • Providing their lived experiences throughout