Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | City of Minnetonka, MN

The City of Minnetonka is committed to welcoming all people – regardless of their race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or ability – to foster a sense of belonging and opportunity across our community and among our staff. However, we recognize marginalized communities in our country and in our community have been impacted by deliberate institutional decisions and historical imbalance. Together we strive to remove barriers to living, working and thriving in our city because we believe that diverse perspectives make Minnetonka a great place to call home.

Our strategic profile outlines the priorities and strategies the city is advancing to make Minnetonka an inclusive and equitable community committed to excellence.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission

Seven commissioners and two student commissioners have been selected to serve on the DEI Commission. The commission is expected to meet for its first meeting in May of 2024.

Action	Date
Receive preliminary comments and directions	May 15, 2023
Introduction of Ordinance	Aug. 14, 2023
Adoption of Ordinance	Aug. 28, 2023
Recruitment	November - December 2023
Tentative Interviews	January 2024
Commission orientation	February 2024
Tentative first commission meeting	May 2024

Just Deeds

justdeeds-logo The City of Minnetonka has joined the Just Deeds Project, which assists property owners with the removal of discriminatory covenants from titles. Just Deeds is a broad coalition of organizations - communities, law firms, realtors and title companies - dedicated to acknowledging and addressing systemic racism in Minnesota housing.

In the early 20th century, real estate developers included covenants in deeds (see below) to prevent property from being sold, leased or occupied based on race, religion or ethnicity. Minnesota prohibited restrictive covenants based on religious faith or creed in 1919, but didn't add race until 1953.

history-hero-covenant-example

Though legally unenforceable, discriminatory covenants remain listed in thousands of Minnesota property titles. The University of Minnesota's Mapping Prejudice Project has identified more than 530 Minnetonka property titles that could still contain such covenants, and more could exist due to subdivided parcels.

Volunteer attorneys will assist residents, at no cost, in searching property records and renouncing restrictive covenants. Hennepin County has agreed to waive all recording fees.

Apply for the Just Deeds Project here.

The city attorney will also identify and investigate city-owned property that contains discriminatory covenants and will work to discharge them from the titles as well.

UPDATE: As of mid-July 2021, the city has received inquiries from 81 residents. Of these, 15 properties were identified in the Mapping Prejudice Project, and volunteer attorneys are assisting the property owners in legally discharging the covenants.

In addition, the city identified 13 city-owned properties which had discriminatory covenants. While most restrictions were removed prior to the project, the city has discharged the covenants from four remaining properties.

Internal efforts

The employee led Internal Equity Committee leads many of the city’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The committee worked throughout 2020 with the consulting firm Root'd Relations to increase intercultural competency and promote inclusivity. It was instrumental in creating a resource library and is currently dividing into subcommittees to consider broader initiatives.

The committee is led by the Senior DEI Coordinator, a Committee Chair and three sub-committee chairs. Employees from across the organization make up committee members, who help execute the work of the committee.

The Internal Equity Committee has three sub-committees:

Policy: Reviews internal and external city policies.
Calendar and Cultural Events: This subcommittee works to highlight cultural events and observances through out the year.
Education: The training team works with the Senior DEI Coordinator to offer training to all employees regarding DEI initiatives.

Resources

The State of Minnesota has launched a Discrimination Helpline to reinforce state efforts to protect the civil rights of Minnesotans. The toll-free helpline will allow those who experience or witness bias and discrimination to report incidents to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. The helpline is staffed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The number is 1-833-454-0148. You can also visit the MNDR website for more resources and information.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator Jayce Alexander can be contacted for bias and discrimination complaints, especially those related to city functions and events.

Police department initiatives

To gain a better understanding of all voices in Minnetonka, and to learn where we need to step up and enact change, the Minnetonka Police Department meets regularly with local faith leaders and communities of color, and is engaged with the following community groups and initiatives:
- Minnetonka Faith Leaders
- Relate Counseling Center’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
- Minnetonka Family Collaborative
- Hopkins Race and Equity Initiative
- Tonka Cares
- Hopkins/Minnetonka Interagency Meeting – includes school social workers, social service agencies and police
- Suburban Police Department Roundtable – includes Hennepin County police department mental health units and county social workers
The police department’s Case Assessment Management Program (CAMP) is an initiative to improve access to mental health resources. This shared program with Hennepin County and the Plymouth Police department pairs a county social worker with police to provide assistance and additional resources to mental health crisis calls. Learn more about the program .
Minnetonka, Plymouth and New Hope police departments and residents have met regularly since 2016 to discuss law enforcement, bias and ways to strengthen ties between local law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Each officer is required to participate in regular, extensive training to ensure an innovative and compassionate approach to law enforcement. Learn more about the department's policies and training.
Contact Community Engagement Officer Chad Firest to learn more.

Government Alliance on Race and Equity

In 2018, the City of Minnetonka joined the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) coalition, a national network of local governments working to achieve racial equity and opportunities for all. GARE helps local governments build capacity to analyze and address policies, practices and procedures in a way that improves outcomes for people of color.

Cohort training program

In the GARE cohort program, a group of City of Minnetonka staff members participated in a yearlong training program to develop a race equity action plan.

With the support of city council, this initiative provided an opportunity for the city to evaluate its practices and polices around issues such as housing, education, contracting, infrastructure and criminal justice. By examining city policies through the lens of racial equity, we are able to address matters that risk marginalization and promote those that advance inclusiveness.

Narrative

Through the GARE program, city staff developed the following narrative to describe the city's efforts to achieve racial equity:

Minnetonka strives to be a community where all people have a sense of belonging and potential for success. We will leverage individual and collective talent, build community connections, work to understand and learn, and employ racial equity tools in decision-making to elevate opportunities for all. We will work to achieve racial equity so everyone has a strong sense of belonging, has equal access to services and can participate in an open, accessible and transparent conversation. A commitment to racial equity is essential to the health of our community.