Delano first city in county to issue fines for virus violations

Delano has become the first city in Kern County to issue fines for stay-at-home order violations.

During a Tuesday night meeting, the Delano City Council voted 4-1 to issue fines for gatherings of more than

10 people from different households in public spaces as well as violations of prohibited business activities like indoor dining and the operation of salons and barbershops.

The temporary ordinance will be in place for 28 days, until Feb. 16. Fines will be issued on a scale from $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense and $500 for the third offense. Two code enforcement officers have been assigned to enforce the ordinance.

The ordinance strengthens the city’s ability to enforce Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Dec. 3 stay-at-home order, which he issued as COVID-19 cases began to rise throughout the state. Over the last two months, local hospitals have continued to struggle with treating the surge of COVID positive patients.

“The council overall felt that there is an urgency to address COVID. We’re in mid-January and we just saw that there’s been more cases statewide,” said Delano Mayor Bryan Osorio. “We just want to say that we did our part in trying to limit the transmission in a few weeks.”

Originally scheduled to be voted on during a special meeting on Jan. 7, the issue had to be delayed when technical difficulties with Zoom made it hard for members of the public to participate.

Osorio said he had been gauging the public’s opinion on the ordinance prior to the vote.

“I was torn,” he said. “And since then I’ve had conversations from strong opponents of the ordinance and surprisingly strong proponents from businesses as well.”

On Tuesday, the council met for hours as community members voiced their opinions on the potential fines. Councilwoman Liz Morris was the only member to vote against the ordinance, saying business owners should be educated on coronavirus protocols rather than fined, according to a report on KERO-23.

If the stay-at-home order ends before the 28-day period is up, the city’s fines will also terminate.