Event Safety

Q: How can I ensure my city’s parades remain safe and secure?

LMC: Parades are a fun community tradition, but they bring unique safety challenges. With vehicles, children, and temporary street closures, cities need clear plans to keep everyone safe.

Consider the following steps:

• Develop a written safety and emergency response plan.
• Create a detailed parade route map.
• Set and enforce speed limits or other rules for parade vehicles.
• Maintain a roster of performers or participants.
• Plan for orderly staging, teardown, and cleanup.

Make sure participants, organizers, and public safety teams understand emergency procedures, including evacuation or medical response protocols. It is also important that you provide your participants with a clear route map of the parade.

Pay close attention to intersections along the route. Some locations may need fencing or barriers to prevent vehicles from crossing the parade route. Additionally, where possible, designate viewing areas to help manage pedestrian traffic and reduce crowd congestion.

For more tips on planning a safe and secure parade, see the League’s City Spot Blog on parade safety at lmc.org/ parade-safety.

Answered by Loss Control Consultant Thomas Marx: [email protected].

Expunged Records

Q What should cities know about the Clean Slate Act, which took effect Jan. 1, 2025?

LMC The Clean Slate Act requires automatic expungements, or “sealing” of records for certain criminal offenses. When a record is expunged, the public can no longer access data related to an arrest or conviction.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has identified and expunged more than 1.6 million records and continues to review additional cases. The law affects cities in two main ways:

• Data requests: The BCA notifies police departments when criminal records are automatically expunged. Once expunged, law enforcement data related to that offense become private. This means that when responding to a data request that may involve an arrest or prosecution, cities should check the BCA’s criminal history system and redact data as required. Exceptions apply to requests from the data subject and law enforcement agencies.
• Background checks: State law generally prohibits public employers from using expunged records in hiring decisions. Because the Clean Slate Act has significantly increased the number of expunged records, cities must take extra care to exclude them from consideration. However, certain public safety positions may still allow access to these records. Cities should consult their city attorney and work directly with the BCA when questions arise.

Several questions and implementation challenges remain regarding the Clean Slate Act. League staff continue to work with the Legislature and state agencies to seek clarification and support.

For more information, contact [email protected].

Answered by Staff Attorney John Stack: [email protected].

Hiring Practices

Q: How should I prepare my interview team before interviews?

LMC: Few responsibilities shape a city’s future more than hiring the right people. Training your interview panel helps ensure each member evaluates candidates using consistent, relevant criteria. This improves hiring accuracy, reduces bias, and strengthens legal defensibility. It also demonstrates a fair and professional hiring process.

Research shows that structured panel interviews can improve hiring accuracy by 20% to 30% compared with unstructured interviews, while also reducing bias. Panels allow cities to gather multiple perspectives and make more balanced decisions. Odd-numbered panels are especially effective because they help avoid tie votes. Giving panelists time to record their impressions before group discussion can also reduce peer influence and support fairer evaluations.

Developing solid interview questions begins with understanding the role. Identify the most important skills, knowledge, and workplace behaviors needed for success. Organize them into categories, and craft questions that ask candidates to describe how they have handled past situations or how they would respond to realistic job scenarios.

Keep questions clear, job related, and consistent for every candidate. Consider pretesting questions with colleagues and avoid topics unrelated to the position. If you are unsure whether a question complies with the law, consult the League or your city attorney.

For additional guidance, see Chapter 2 in the League’s Human Resources Reference Manual at lmc.org/hiring.

Answered by LMC Assistant HR Director Joyce Hottinger: [email protected].