City hall shut down, all non-essential services scaled back
The City of Windsor is closing city hall and scaling back all non-essential programs to ensure it can deliver critical services in the face of the COVID-19 threat.
“To protect the health and safety of all municipal employees, and following the advice of local public health officials, we are closing city hall to the public and setting up the vast majority of our employees to work from home,” said Mayor Drew Dilkens. “Many of our services are already available online, while core services will continue, on a scaled-back basis.”
The changes begin at the end of the business day on Thursday and will continue until at least April 5.
All emergency services including the Windsor Police Service and Windsor Fire and Rescue Services will remain operational.
The city previously shut down public recreation facilities including arenas, pools, museums and community centres,
Dilkens said Thursday that city hall, the parks and recreation main office at 2450 Mcdougall St. and parking enforcement at 1266 Mcdougall Ave. will also be closed. The changes include a halt on issuing marriage licences and performing civil ceremonies.
The Windsor-detroit Tunnel Bus will suspend operations, and adjustments to other bus routes are anticipated.
The solid waste drop-off will be closed to the public with exception of commercial customers. Municipal licensing will be discontinued. Employment and Training Services for the public will also be closed.
The city said staff working from home will continue to process planning applications. Public parks and playground equipment
will be maintained on a reduced schedule.
Children’s Services Administrative Supports and Housing Administrative Supports will only operate online and over the phone. Curbside waste and recycling will continue as planned and scheduled.
The city is encouraging residents to use online means to access municipal services.
Links to all online services are available at citywindsor.ca. Most links are under the E-services tab.
The city said Service Ontario and Service Canada offices, operated by the provincial and federal governments at 400 City Hall Square East, will remain open for now.
Other buildings with self-contained leased space to non-city tenants, such as Mackenzie Hall and the Gino and Liz Marcus Community Centre, also remain open.
Visitors will be screened before entry.
For a complete list of the changes and other updates on how the city is handling the COVID -19 crisis, go to citywindsor.ca/covid-19.
Windsor residents with questions or concerns can also call 311 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., download the 311 app or send an email to 311@citywindsor.ca.