South Burlington puts plan in action to combat Coronavirus - WCAX

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) South Burlington is making changes in an effort to combat the coronavirus.

The city’s COVID-19 response was announced on Monday. City Manager Kevin Dorn says all city buildings now have restricted access and anyone planning to go to City Hall will need to make an appointment. The front lobby of the police headquarters is locked and visitors will have to communicate to dispatch in the vestibule. They’ve also terminated public meetings that may attract crowds of ten people or more. The public library is closed and all recreation programs held in schools and municipal facilities have been canceled.
 
“The city council and the city management understand the concerns of the public and the unprecedented nature of this threat right now. People are concerned for their health, for their children’s health, for their parent’s health, and so on,” said Dorn.
 
Restaurants and bars are also temporarily closed, as directed by Gov. Phil Scott on Monday. Dorn says stores are still open but many of them have reduced their hours. Dorn expects this is going to take a major toll on the economy. He predicts the hospitality industry and other jobs that can’t be done from home will be hit particularly hard.
 
“I don’t have a dollar impact but I can tell you, it’s going to be severe,” he said. “You can’t phone in a restaurant or a bar or a hotel. And hotel attendance has plummeted.”

Dorn is also worried about people making minimum wage.
 
“If this carries on very long—I’ve talked to people in the hospitality industry and layoffs could very well-becoming,” Dorn said.
 
Some people who work customer service jobs are fearful of what’s to come.
 
“I feel like within the week, it will be closed and we’re not going to have any work at all,” said Kaltuma Ibrahim who works at J.C. Penney at University Mall.
 
Ibrahim says she’s working far fewer hours than usual this week.
 
“I usually work for around twenty hours and I’m only working like two this week. Two or four,” Ibrahim said.
 
Aaron Young, who works at Michael’s, says his hours have been cut back. He says on some days, employees have to pick up an extra shift since college students aren’t coming back to work now that UVM has moved to online classes.
 
“Managers are having to do the regular sales floor jobs because we just don’t have the people for it. Like, the dorms are closed,” Young said.
 
Through all of the uncertainty, people are trying not to panic.
 
“I wouldn’t say I’m not worried but I’m trying to not be anxious or paranoid. I’m trying to be alert, not anxious,” Young said.
 
There is a saving grace. Dorn says the city is expecting to make about $3.5 million from the 1% local option tax.
 
“So as fewer people are shopping and paying the sales tax or nobody going to get rooms for restaurants and bars and hotels, those revenues will turn down for the city and we’re already making plans for that,” Dorn explained. “The city taxes rooms and meals and alcohol at one percent, and also taxes sales at one percent. That piggybacks on top of state taxes that do the same thing but at a much higher value. The state sales tax is six and the rooms and meals tax is nine. So we piggyback on top of that and we get that one percent back to us for municipal uses. So it’s about $3.5 million annually.”
 
With a number of changes made, Dorn wants to reassure the public that emergency services are still available.
 
“The city services that they depend on will be there and we have contingency plans in place. We have the best people as far as I’m concerned anywhere delivering these services. When they call with their need for emergency services and others, that need will be met,” he said. ”All the critical services of government-- be they police services, fire, ambulance, sewer, water-- those services that you expect every day are going to continue unabated and uninterrupted.”
 
According to the city’s website, if you call 911, you will be asked if you’re experiencing flu-like symptoms.

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South Burlington puts plan in action to combat Coronavirus - WCAX
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