Strategic Priorities

From Mayor Lauren McLean

Since taking office as mayor, our community has experienced unprecedented hardship; made sacrifices to protect the health of others; called upon ourselves to address public safety; and demonstrated, through it all, that we are committed to ensuring that together, we create a community that protects people, welcomes all, and offers opportunity for everyone.

As I look to the future, I am encouraged by the passion I see both in our community and in the City of Boise organization. In these challenging times is the opportunity to rebuild stronger and safer, to seek ways to recover as a more resilient community. Our strategic priorities set a course for this effort as we work to create a city for everyone.

A Home for Everyone

Keep our neighborhoods people-scaled and people-friendly, knowing that strong neighborhoods need housing at every price point.

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Goal: Create an Eviction Prevention Fund

One of the major barriers to maintaining stable and permanent housing is the threat of eviction. An Eviction Prevention Fund can provide a safety net to residents in financial crisis.

Actions

• Work with community organizations to deliver eviction prevention services to residents in need

Goal: Establish a systematic approach to addressing homelessness

By strategically expanding services like outreach, mental health and housing, we can make a positive impact on individual lives and decrease the number of people experiencing homelessness.

Actions

• Expand the recently-created outreach street team by developing a cross-agency, multi-jurisdictional outreach program
• Broaden the outreach team’s reach to those living in their cars/RVs, camping or otherwise unsheltered
• Grow outreach services to include shelter, mental health services, substance use treatment and housing
• Support collaborative efforts to end family homelessness

Goal: Create and staff a community housing land trust

The trust will leverage city-owned land to create housing for residents at all income levels, and ensure it remains affordable far into the future.

Actions

• Begin construction of mixed-income housing on city property at Franklin and Orchard (anticipated in Fall 2021)
• Move forward with acquisition of other properties currently being considered by the land trust

Goal: Protect existing affordable housing and grow affordable housing options

Choice in housing matters in our community. From mobile home parks to duplexes, we must offer housing choices in Boise to make our community affordable and viable for all who wish to call Boise home.

Actions

• Require city review of applications to demolish buildings if the demolition would result in loss of affordable housing
• Negotiate with developers planning to demolish multi-unit housing, like apartments and duplexes, to preserve existing affordable housing or develop new affordable housing where possible
• Pursue partnerships with community organizations, leveraging city resources to grow affordable housing

A Clean City for Everyone

Protect our clean air and clean water, improve parks, open spaces and pathways that unite neighborhoods and connect us. Create opportunity through the transition to a clean energy economy.

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Goal: Develop a Climate Action Plan

By creating a Climate Action Plan our community will see the steps that the City of Boise and our community will be taking to combat climate change and create a sustainable environment for generations.

Actions

• Collect and analyze data to be used to inform the plan
• Create a robust community engagement strategy that ensures outreach to those that live, work and play in Boise so they can provide input throughout the development of the plan and into the execution

Goal: Initiate climate economy incubator

A climate economy incubator promotes a healthy and vibrant economy by finding and supporting new business opportunities that address climate issues.

Actions

• Determine the scope of the accelerator through evaluation of funding models and identification of potential partnerships
• Create concept scope and present to city leadership with guidance of a community working group

Goal: Plant new trees in neighborhoods with limited tree canopy and larger vulnerable populations

Tree canopies are important for the environmental health of Boise. From decreasing the amount of rain and snow melt that flows into the river, to providing much needed shade that reduces heating and cooling costs, the trees of Boise increase quality of life for those who live, work and play here.

Actions

• Create a tree planting event for Fall 2020 that engages Boise residents across all communities
• Create a database to track tree planting throughout the city
• Identify partnerships and funding sources to support this initiative

Create a Climate Action Division

By putting a singular focus on climate change, preparedness and innovation in the city, Boise can position itself to be a national leader in mitigating climate impacts and innovating to create a robust climate economy.

Actions

• Using existing staff, create a division within the Department of Public Works to focus on climate action
• Align climate efforts across all city departments
• Develop key performance indicators related to climate and share publicly to increase transparency

Engaging Everyone

We will fiercely seek opportunities for collaboration, remain accessible and transparent, and build on our residents’ passion for Boise and desire to shape their future.

Goal: Meet parallel communities where they’re at

As an accessible and transparent municipal government, we must ensure all voices that wish to participate in each conversation are provided the invitation and the opportunity.

Actions

• Identify and incorporate new approaches to ensure the city's communication and engagement activities reach a broad audience, including residents who don’t typically interact with government
• Work with community partners to increase participation in public meetings, city activities and conversations about the future of Boise

Goal: Create opportunities for underrepresented communities to interact and have conversations with Mayor McLean

Hearing from and listening to constituents is fundamental to a successful government. Boiseans do not always have the means or ability to meet the mayor at City Hall, so it is imperative that the mayor is accessible to constituents where they are.

Actions

• Continue monthly Listening Sessions with the mayor
• Partner with employers, faith-based organizations and others to provide listening session opportunities
• Remove barriers to participation by offering sessions throughout the city at diverse days and times

Goal: Increase mayor transparency

Boiseans deserve to know what their mayor is working on, who she is meeting with and what her priorities are.

Actions

• Publish the mayor’s meeting calendar on the city website
• Ensure constituent services meet service expectations and provide responses in a timely manner

Goal: Improve language translation services

Boise is a welcoming community made up of people from many different backgrounds. A government for everyone provides its residents access to city materials in the language they speak.

Actions

• Provide translations for core documents in the most common languages spoken by users
• Publicize and make accessible the process for requesting documents in languages other than English
• Provide ASL and language translation at Listening Sessions with the mayor and other public events

Goal: Conduct an inclusion assessment with City of Boise departments and employees

Residents deserve to have a city government that is responsive, open and inclusive. The first step to this is understanding, organizationally, our strengths and opportunities so that we can focus our efforts where they’ll have the greatest impact.

Actions

• With an external community partner, conduct an organizational assessment
• Create a framework for action so the city can become more responsive to the needs of the larger community through training, policy reviews and updates, and process improvement efforts

Goal: Create a workplace that reflects our community

In a city for everyone, the community sees themselves in their government - from police officers and firefighters to city leadership. A diverse workforce also ensures that different ideas, paths to solutions and innovations are possible.

Actions

• Assess the city’s internal cultural environment to identify opportunities for increased understanding of the value of a diverse workplace
• Increase visibility of underrepresented groups inside the city for a stronger sense of identity, building a culture to support allyship for a more welcoming and inclusive organization
• Identify and remove barriers to city employment and promotions for underrepresented communities
• Increase awareness about unconscious bias across the organization