Local government takes its role seriously in virus fight

Broward County is faced with a serious crisis with COVID-19, like nothing we have ever experienced before. Yet even in the face of this worldwide crisis, local government is a public servant and still needs to provide essential services to protect and defend members of the public. For example:

■ Water and Sanitation Operations — ensuring that people have access to water, and that government has the ability to dispose of wastewater

■ Transportation Operations — people depend on the bus to go to the doctor, pharmacy and grocery store, and seniors and other vulnerable populations rely on Paratransit to get required medical services

■ Port Everglades Operations — to receive goods and products and provide fuel supply (12 counties in Southeast Florida depend on Port operations; Fort LauderdaleHollywood International, Miami-Dade International and Palm Beach International airports are all dependent on jet fuel coming out of Port Everglades)

■ Airport Operations — to provide for goods and products coming here, and the movement of people

■ Human Services Operations — to ensure that our most vulnerable residents, including elderly and veterans, families, individuals with addictions, victims of sexual assault and others get the critical services they need; and,

■ Roadway and Traffic Signalization Operations — so that people can safely travel around the County.

One constant of these varied services is that they require County employees to remain working in order to provide services to the public, especially during a crisis.

This is not an exhaustive list of the essential services the County provides to the public in a crisis, and doesn’t even address additional responsibilities that occur in a crisis, such as transforming parks into mobile testing sites, and duties associated with an Emergency Operations Center activation. The real issue is how to manage all that the County is responsible for in a way that is responsive to the needs of both the community and our staff.

Broward County has taken the following actions to protect its employees while still providing necessary services to the public:

■ We are following the recommendations of the Florida Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as to additional steps and precautionary measures that need to be taken.

■ We have increased the cleaning of public buildings, particularly in areas where the public does business with the County, including more thorough and more frequent cleaning in bathrooms, escalators, elevators and on hand railings.

■ We are closing or restricting public access to County buildings, such as Libraries, and providing services remotely whenever possible.

■ Employees coming to work are reminded to practice “social distancing” and we encourage the use of technology in place of face-to-face meetings.

■ We are implementing a temporary telework policy that allows eligible employees to work from home, but also ensures that we have the proper technology in place to prevent cyber attacks. We must protect our networks from a ransom attack, the risk of which increases during times of crisis.

These are just a few examples. We are continually assessing our operations and taking appropriate actions to ensure that our employees are safe and that the public is able to access vital services.

While it is understandable that most individuals would rather be at home during a crisis like this, most government employees know the importance of the role they play in maintaining order and continuing to provide necessary services to the public, especially during a crisis.

Thank you for allowing me to explain the County’s position on this and thank you to all of the dedicated County employees who have been “called to duty” during this crisis.

By Bertha Henry