13. Proactive, accessible, and sustainable government: In 2040, Minneapolis City government will be proactive, accessible, and fiscally sustainable.

When the City develops policies, enacts ordinances, creates programs or deploys resources, its activities have a direct effect on residents, businesses and visitors. To be effective, the City needs to continually explore refinements and new tools to ensure it provides services in a streamlined, accessible, and equitable manner.

This includes committing to meaningful engagement with residents and businesses when making decisions. It means improving the accessibility of engagement activities and intentionally seeking out engagement with populations that have been underrepresented – specifically communities of color and indigenous peoples. Pairing public feedback with empirical research and data will lead to better-informed decisions and increased transparency. The City should also improve engagement by expanding the racial and ethnic diversity of its workforce, supply chain and vendors.

Like all cities, Minneapolis often faces fiscal uncertainty as a result of actions at the federal and state levels. This makes City government more reliant on the local tax base for support and requires the City to make diligent, prudent fiscal decisions and seek opportunities to leverage City resources with external funding sources.

To achieve the goal of being a proactive, accessible, and fiscally sustainable government, the City of Minneapolis will provide services that benefit residents, workers, visitors and businesses in a streamlined, accessible and equitable manner. This means improving services and using data and research to guide decision-making and plan for the future. It also means planning effectively for municipally owned facilities to serve a growing city.

Minneapolis will manage existing physical assets and work to implement the right improvements at the optimal time; and will use those improvements to cumulatively progress multiple City goals. This means creating and seizing opportunities to leverage funding with internal and regional partners or other entities that invest in the city. The City will also serve as a model employer by increasing the diversity of its workforce and providing employment opportunities for youth.