The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
City Hall preparing to reopen
Reduced hours may be coming for some workers
City Council enthusiasts and those attending court will have to wait to get into Lorain City Hall.
May 1 was a target date for reopening businesses shut down for weeks due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, city workers may have time off as Lorain, like cities across Ohio and the nation, predict losses to the municipal budget due to economic conditions.
As a result, the city administration will form a pandemic economic recovery team.
Not ready to reopen
City Hall is not quite ready yet to reopen, said Mayor Jack Bradley.
“We’re not prepared yet to reopen Lorain City Hall to the public, but we are discussing our plans for reopening,” Bradley said.
He said he hopes to have policies in place by May 15 to reopen later this month.
“But again, we’re going to have to have in place markers for social distancing and no groups of greater than 10 people unless the governor’s orders are superseded prior to that date,” Bradley said, referring to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
The governor has consulted with Ohio’s public health experts to create the policies for dealing with COVID-19.
All employees must wear face coverings when entering the building.
Visitors also will be required to cover their noses and mouths, the mayor said.
“It doesn’t have to be fancy,” he said. “But it’s going to have to provide some covering.”
Health care professionals have said to assume everyone carries the virus and that the face covering “is just to protect us from each other,” Bradley said.
A major consideration will be foot traffic through Lorain Municipal Court.
On a daily basis, the court attracts the largest crowds and city leaders don’t want people to have to congregate at the building entrances while waiting for health screenings, Bradley said.
The elected officials spoke about the reopening in a meeting May 4.
“But it will be, as the governor has indicated, a careful and slow process,” Bradley said.
“But it will be, as the governor has indicated, a careful and slow process.” — Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley
Reducing hours
On May 1, the city administration filed an application for the SharedWork Ohio program, which helps employers avoid layoffs by reducing work hours up to 50 percent.
Lorain could receive approval as early as May 4, with the possibility of reduced work hours starting May 11.
Some workers would have hours cut to four or three days of work a week.
The shifts would be staggered to avoid reductions in service.
“I think that by participating in this program, the effect on city services will be minimal,” Bradley said.
It will allow the city to cut hours of all workers to avoid layoffs to some service staff.
The program will not include police and firefighters.
Across the municipal staff, 204 city workers have volunteered to participate.
Although an exact figure was not available, Bradley estimated that would be about 95 percent or more of city staff, not including police and firefighters.
“So, I was very happy to see our workers to volunteer to participate in this program to avoid layoffs to some of the younger employees,” he said. “It sort of reflects the, we’re all in this together, attitude.”
Bradley has estimated the move could cut the city’s salary budget by up to 20 percent.
Economic recovery
An economic recovery team could examine the city’s economic situation and develop a strategy to keep the local government running efficiently while maintaining fiscal solvency, Bradley said.
The group would include Safety-Service Director Max Upton, city Auditor Karen Shawver, Treasurer Terri Soto, members of City Council and representatives of labor, the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce and Lorain Port Authority, Bradley said.