Used Equipment

Q: What are our options for retiring old playground equipment?

LMC: Cities often ask whether selling old playground equipment can help offset the cost of new structures. While that may be possible in limited circumstances, due diligence is essential before deciding.

Playgrounds are typically replaced when equipment is worn out or no longer meets current safety standards. If equipment fails inspection, it must be physically destroyed and recycled or discarded — not sold or donated. Selling unsafe equipment can expose a city to liability if the equipment is reused and someone is injured.

In some cases, cities replace playgrounds even when the equipment is still modern, functional, and compliant with safety standards. When that happens, there may be options to donate or sell the equipment. Before doing so, cities should consider taking the following steps:

1. Have the equipment inspected by a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI). A CPSI can determine whether the equipment is safe to transfer and compliant with standards. A professional inspection also helps reduce the city’s exposure to future liability by documenting the condition of the equipment at the time of transfer.

2. Use a written agreement that includes a waiver and assumption-of-risk language. Any sale or donation of used equipment should be documented in writing. The League of Minnesota Cities provides sample agreements designed to clearly transfer responsibility and liability to the new owner.

If your city accepts used playground equipment, it’s equally important to:

• Have it inspected at its current location before removal and again after installation.
• Use the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust’s model resolution for accepting donated items (lmc.org/Accepting-Donations).

Additional reminders:

• All playground equipment owned or operated by a city must comply with Consumer Product Safety Commission and ASTM International standards.
• Equipment should be commercial grade, not homeowner or residential grade.
• Children benefit from play environments that allow for appropriate risk-taking, but those environments must also be well maintained and compliant with safety standards.

For help with playground safety, guidance on conducting basic inspections, or access to the templates and sample agreements, contact your LMCIT loss control consultant.

Answered by Senior Loss Control Consultant Marc Dunker: [email protected].

Employee Interviews

Q: We are interviewing for temporary and ongoing positions this spring. Do we have to ask the same questions of every candidate?

LMC: To create a level playing field, interviewers should ask a consistent set of core questions of all candidates. This approach works well because it promotes fairness and allows the city to compare applicants based on the position’s key requirements.

At the same time, thoughtful follow-up questions play an important role in gathering complete information, which helps ensure the city understands each candidate’s experience and qualifications and can make informed decisions about next steps in the hiring process.

For example, if a candidate describes their prior work experience but does not mention education or training, it’s appropriate to ask, “Can you tell me about any education or training you have related to this job?” Simple prompts like “Tell me more about that” encourage candidates to provide additional detail without introducing bias.

Balancing consistency with appropriate follow-up conversation helps interviewers make sound, defensible hiring decisions, and ensures candidates are evaluated on their ability to perform the job.

For additional information on hiring, see Chapter 2 of the League’s HR Reference Manual and related resources at lmc.org/hiring or email [email protected].

Answered by Assistant Human Resources Director Joyce Hottinger: [email protected].

Email Services

Q: How should we set up email services for city staff and elected officials?

LMC: Most cities choose between two common approaches to email services. Before comparing options, it helps to know that the part of an email address after the “@” symbol is called the domain (for example, @ yourcity.gov). The domain shows who controls the email system.

Provider accounts

Some cities use email accounts created directly through public providers such as Gmail or Yahoo. These accounts might be used only for city business (for example, cityclerk@yahoo. com), but they are still controlled by the provider and the individual who created them. This can cause problems because:

• The city does not own the account.
• When city staff or officials leave, regaining control of the account and the data can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly to recover.

Provider accounts are easy to set up, but they can create long-term data practices and records retention risks.

City-managed accounts

A more secure option is for the city to use email accounts that the city owns and manages, such as [email protected]. These accounts are provided through systems like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.

With city-managed accounts, the city controls passwords, access, and records retention, and accounts remain with the city even when people leave. These systems can be managed by city staff or by a consultant. Before entering into any agreement for a city email system, the city attorney should review the contract to ensure it meets legal and data practices requirements.

Using a .gov domain

A .gov domain identifies an official government organization and helps build public trust. Minnesota law requires cities and counties that administer absentee voting to use a .gov domain for their official websites by June 1, 2026. Many cities also use their .gov domain for email addresses, such as [email protected]. Obtaining a .gov domain is free, but the city must still pay for an email service to operate and manage the email accounts.

Choosing the right email setup depends on the city’s size and needs, but using city-managed accounts gives the city greater control, security, and access to its own records.

Answered by IT Member Consultant Matt Nelles: [email protected].