Safety Committees

Q: How can small cities establish an effective safety committee with limited staff and resources?

LMC: The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) requires cities and public employers with 25 or more employees to establish and operate a safety committee — and yes, volunteer firefighters count toward that number. Even for cities with fewer employees where a committee isn’t required, it’s still a best practice to promote a strong culture of safety.

But smaller cities often face unique challenges when it comes to safety committees, such as:

• Limited staffing and availability.
• Time constraints across multiple roles.
• Lack of dedicated safety personnel.

So, how can your city still make this work? Here are a few practical steps:

• Start small: Begin with a basic structure. Recruit a few engaged employees and integrate safety topics into existing meetings (e.g., department or leadership meetings) to save time.
• Leverage available resources: Invite your local League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust loss control consultant to assist with launching or supporting your committee. They can offer tools tailored to your operations like job hazard analyses (JHA), safety meeting topics, training resources, and facility walkthroughs.
• Focus on documentation: Keep clear records of meeting dates, attendance, topics discussed, and action items. Highlight both successes and areas for improvement. Tracking your committee’s progress over time shows accountability and commitment to creating a safer workplace.

While starting a safety committee in a small city can seem daunting, even modest efforts go a long way.

Answered by Loss Control Consultant Garrett Johnson: [email protected].

Generative AI Use

Q: How are city human resources (HR) professionals using generative artificial intelligence (AI)?

LMC: Shelly Anderson, South St. Paul’s assistant city administrator/HR director, shared how she incorporates AI to more efficiently update template forms, policies, and job descriptions. Shelly is quick to note that she would never use an AI generated draft as a final work product.

Greg Van Wormer, LMC’s technology services director, reminds us of three crucial principles when using AI:

• No private data should ever be used. Ensure compliance with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act and limit the use of personally identifiable information by keeping private data out of your queries.
• Facts need to be verified. AI can make up answers, so always verify its responses are accurate.
• Inclusion in AI remains a challenge. Generative AI can unintentionally perpetuate or amplify bias in HR work or employee communications. Data sets used by AI may not be gathered from diverse sources, so be thoughtful of where you may be missing key perspectives.

The takeaway: While generative AI can help streamline our work, it’s not a replacement for human judgment. Cities will want to establish clear policies for use, provide training, and regularly review AI outputs to understand both the capabilities and risks in using AI.

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

Utilities

Q: What should cities know about new laws governing utilities in landlord-tenant situations?

LMC: Earlier this year, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) notified cities of new laws effective Jan. 1, 2025, that may change city billing, equipment maintenance, accounting and record keeping practices, and the language used in leases and tenant communications.

Minnesota Statutes, sections 216B.022, 216B.023, 216B.024, and 504B.216 apply to municipal utilities and govern natural gas, electricity, water, and sewer utilities. Broadly, they govern submetering in shared-metered residential buildings, which involves installing individual meters to measure utility usage instead of relying on shared meters and estimates.

Here’s what cities should know about these new laws:

• Landlords must be the bill payer and customer of record.
• Landlords cannot remove tenants from their existing utility account or request that a city do so.
• Landlords cannot disconnect tenants’ utility service for failure to pay. Municipal utilities can still disconnect service to a landlord’s building as provided in law.
• Municipal utilities must inform tenants of service disconnection by posting in the building. The notice must include specific information.
• Tenants have various rights and remedies when service is disconnected, including paying current charges to have service retained or restored.
• Cities are not required to alter their accounting system or billing records.
• Municipal utility providers can still exercise their authority under Minnesota Statutes, section 444.075, subdivisions 3 and 3e, to certify unpaid charges.

While some provisions in these new laws may not directly affect cities, cities should become familiar with them.

For more information, see the LMC information memo at lmc.org/utility-charges.

Answered by Staff Attorney Josie Rosene: [email protected].