Swift Current City Hall re-opens with limited hours

A mix of face-to-face services and by appointment only visits are now available with Swift Current City Hall re-opening with limited hours.

City Hall partially re-opened this past Tuesday after being closed to the public since Friday, March 20 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The general public will be able to access limited faceto-face services during the initial re-opening phase, including all bill payments and utility services such as connections, disconnections and transfers. These services will be available on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the exception of statutory holidays. All other services that require face-to-face contact will be offered by appointment only.

Citizens who are able to continue conducting business with the City over the telephone or via email are encouraged to continue doing so in order to limit person-to-person contact within City Hall.

The resumption of service occurred in part after a high volume of social media objections to an extension to City Hall being closed. A Facebook post on the City’s decision to keep City Hall closed posted on Thursday, August 27 received over 130 comments, with the majority expressing concern City Hall would continue to remain closed.

On Monday, August 31, the City again posted on their Facebook page that the Administrative Team was taking into consideration the considerable feedback which has been directed their way via social media along with emails and phone calls.

“After consulting with various stakeholder agencies and staff members, as well as receiving feedback from our valued customers, we came to the decision that it is time to open our doors,” City of Swift Current Chief Administrative Officer Tim Marcus said this past Thursday. “While we remain confident that we can provide virtually all of our services over the telephone or via email and other online platforms, we recognize the fact that some citizens prefer to conduct business in person, and we are ready to gradually move in that direction.”

Marcus noted that the City is aware of customers experiencing difficulties getting through to City staff in recent months during the pandemic.

“During the initial stages of the pandemic, we experienced a turnover of front-line staff and we delayed filling some of these positions in light of financial implications related to COVID-19,” said Marcus. “We’ve recently filled the last of these positions on our front line, and our staff are now working within a 24-hour call return policy.”

Mayor Denis Perrault voiced his appreciation to the community for their patience, and for working collectively to lower the local COVID-19 case load.

“We’ve been very encouraged by the low numbers that we’ve been seeing here in the Southwest in the past few days and weeks, and that gives us confidence that we can begin to open our doors while keeping both customers and City staff safe,” said Perrault. “This is the product of a community and region working together and doing the right things to help us get through the