We should probably all accept that there are more coronavirus updates still to come.
The following is a message from Orem City Manager Jamie Davidson:
Employees of the City of Orem,
Recent days have seen dramatic shifts in the movement of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Today, federal and state leaders offered additional counsel as to how to best proceed in light of current happenings in Utah with COVID-19. As a city and as employees of the City of Orem, it is necessary that we accept and act upon this counsel. In that spirit and with the concurrence of Mayor Brunst and the City Council, effective tomorrow (Friday, March 13, 2020), the following temporary measures will be put in place in the City of Orem as related to citizen services and city employees through Tuesday, March 31, 2020:
- City Events. All public events on the current city calendar will be cancelled or postponed. These events include, but are not limited to the following: the Census 2020 kickoff event, Senior Center Grammys and scheduled events at the Orem Public Library.
- Public Meetings. City citizen commission and board meetings will be cancelled or postponed. The scheduled CARE and Natural Resource Stewardship Committee meetings for this evening, March 12, will continue as planned. The scheduled March 18 Planning Commission and March 31 City Council Meetings will be scheduled as electronic meetings, provided a means can be identified to accept public comment during these public hearings. If the public comment issue cannot be appropriately resolved, then all public hearings scheduled for those meetings will be rescheduled. As an FYI, Planning Commission and City Council Meetings can be held electronically provided one member of the recommending/governing body is physically in attendance at the meeting’s primary location.
- Soft Closure – Orem City Center, Public Safety Building, Fire Stations, Public Works and Associated Facilities. The noted buildings will be open for city business; however, residents, contractors, tour groups, student classes, patrons, etc., will be encouraged to work with the city during this period in a way other than in person. Such contact opportunities include the web via Orem.org, email, telephone, etc. In cases where practical, telecommuting will be encouraged. With this soft closure, employees will continue to work in city facilities, but direct contact with the public will be limited (and politely discouraged). The city will communicate the soft closures by all means available.
- Facility Closures – Library, Senior Center and Fitness Center (downstairs in the senior center). The most vulnerable publics in this outbreak are the mature and the young. These closures are directly intended to protect the interests of all people, but especially the young and the elderly. Employees will still be on site (as determined by your department director), but public access to these facilities will be closed. The city will communicate the hard closures by all means available.
- Sports Programs. All sports programming and leagues under the direct control of the City of Orem will be postponed until after March 31. This does not include programs under the leadership of Orem Youth Baseball, Orem Youth Soccer, etc., as the governance of these co-sponsored groups are not with the City of Orem.
- Employee Travel and Meetings. All employee travel for city business will be cancelled. In addition, employees are encouraged to limit face-to-face meetings during this same time period, and to use online tools or teleconferences in lieu of such meetings.
- City of Orem’s Emergency Operations Center. I have asked the city’s Emergency Manager Heath Stevenson to activate the city’s Emergency Operations Center. This activation will be a “partial” opening at this time with regular meetings of the city’s executive leadership team to review pressing city matters related to COVID-19 and to assess on-going operations. The group’s next formal scheduled meeting will be Monday, March 16 at 9 a.m.
- City Emergency Declaration. Governor Herbert declared a statewide emergency related to COVID-19 on March 6. As such, the city does not see a need or a compelling reason to declare a local state of emergency at this time. Moreover, effective today, I have asked Finance Director Brandon Nelson to activate the city’s emergency accounting protocols within the city’s general ledger to begin appropriately accounting for emergency expenditures related to COVID-19. These emergency accounting measures are necessary in order to recoup federal and state disaster dollars, if available.
- Employee Vacation Requests. Department directors have been asked to strictly apply the tenets of the city’s current vacation leave policy in relation to all employee vacation requests from today through March 31. Employee vacation leave, coupled with the potential of employees taking sick leave as a result of COVID-19 could pose significant challenges citywide in the deployment of needed staff resources.
- Coordinated Work Efforts. Subject to the review of each department director, work assignments may be strategically assigned/modified to minimize personal contact. Such efforts may include the suggestion that employees telecommute or that employees work, to the extent possible, independently in the field.
- Use of Employee Sick Time. As concern over COVID-19 grows, employees may need to take time off to care for loved ones who are sick or quarantined. Per city policy, an employee may use up to 40 hours of his/her sick time (56 hours for combat firefighters) for the care of sick family members annually. During this time, with department director approval, an employee may be permitted to use more than 40 hours of sick time to care for loved ones who have medical concerns, including COVID-19. This time shall be documented as Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time per the city’s FMLA policy.
- Negative Sick Leave Balance. In some cases, employees may not have sufficient sick time to compensate their absence(s) with COVID-19. With this in mind, the city’s sick leave policy shall be temporarily amended to accommodate an employee accruing a negative sick leave balance as a result of COVID-19 with department director approval. The intent of the temporary change is to permit an employee to be paid on schedule and to have him/her pay the city back for sick leave he/she has not earned to this point at a later date as sick balances are replenished.
- Staggering Shift Work. To avoid personal contact as suggested by the CDC and Utah Governor Herbert, department directors have been authorized to stagger employee start and stop times, if necessary and advisable, during the next few weeks to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This may mean that some employee may start work each day or end work each day after normal posted business hours.
- Supervisor Response to COVID-19. City supervisors are advised to familiarize themselves with how to respond to potential workplace exposures to COVID-19. Access to this information can be found here.
- Communications. The city’s communications team is developing a variety of communication pieces/resources to notify citizens/employees of all that I have shared above. Every effort will be made to get the word out to all affected by these decisions.
- FY 2020-2021 Budget. With growing financial concerns looming in relation to COVID-19, I have asked department directors in the next seven days to provide our Finance team with a proposed FY 2020-2021 department budget scenario that is 3 percent less than FY 2019-2020 (current year). I am not suggesting that great financial concern lies ahead; however, I believe we need to be prepared to pivot, if necessary.
Again, the recommendations noted above are related to activities from today through March 31, 2020. I understand that what I have shared above may be of concern to some and an inconvenience to others. With that said, I think great caution and prudence is needed at this time. I am thankful to be associated with such a great group of co-workers like yourselves. I know the city will weather this temporary storm and I remain very confident and optimistic about the future.
Please take time to take care of yourselves, your families and the others you love. Also, at this time, I ask you to join me in putting your best foot forward in the community and serving as a source of calm, support and leadership to those we serve each day during this unique moment in our history.
Thanks for all you do. If you have additional questions and/or concerns, I would invite you to reach out to your department directors for further guidance and direction. Of course, you are always welcome to contact me. I can be reached at 801-229-7035 (office), 801-836-1005 (mobile/text), or email at jpdavidson@orem.org.
With much respect, admiration and appreciation,
Jamie