Thomas Breen file photo
An aldermanic committee hearing in February: Is this what legislating will look like going forward?
An aldermanic committee has canceled an upcoming public hearing as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, as local and state elected officials struggle to figure out how best to legislate amidst a pandemic.
On Thursday afternoon, city Legislative Aide Mickey Mercier emailed all 30 alders to let them know that the Joint Community Development/Human Services Committee has canceled a public hearing it planned to hold Thursday night regarding federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocations and the city’s Consolidated Plan.
“Due to concerns about Coronavirus, tonight’s CDBG/Consolidated Plan hearing is postponed to a date to be announced, per co-chairs Brian Wingate and Darryl Brackeen,” Mercier wrote.
“Committee members are being asked to submit written questions regarding Consolidated Plan funds for city departments, which may be forwarded to you next week. In addition, you may be asked to appear at one of the other hearings, which are currently scheduled for March 25 and April 1.”
He wrote that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) plans to issue guidance for CDBG grantee cities sometime soon. “We will meet their deadlines and requirements one way or another,” he wrote.
The canceled meeting came at a time when city and state legislators and elected officials are wading into somewhat uncharted territory — how to continue to legislate and comply with state public meeting laws when public health officials are urging residents to avoid large gatherings of 100 or more and to stay home if they feel sick.
Click here for a story by the Connecticut Mirror’s Mark Pazniokas about the state legislature canceling all public hearings scheduled for next week, revising their rules to allow for committee votes by telephone, and convening a Declaration of Public Health Emergency Review Committee.
Click here to read about how Hamden has already cancelled all public meetings, gatherings, and other events that take place in town buildings.
Mayor Elicker:
“There are laws around our understandable requirements to open up meetings for the public,” Mayor Justin Elicker said Thursday afternoon during a press conference at which he and New Haven Public Schools Superintendent Ilene Tracey announced that all local public schools will be closed indefinitely starting Friday.
“It’s difficult for us as a city to just decide that we won’t hold meetings where people can physically show up.”
He said that he has asked each city commission and committee chair to read a statement prior to the beginning of the meeting that urges attendees to follow a variety of precautionary measures, including keeping their comments brief, leaving the meeting after they have testified, using hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes when available, and keeping a “safe and respectful distance from one another.”
Click here to download a copy of that statement, and to read a memo in which the Elicker administration asks committee and commission chairs to ask themselves: Is your meeting essential for meeting a regulatory or funding deadline? Is it essential for a core operational function like emergency preparedness? Can your meeting be changed to a conference call or web-based format. And how would you be impacted by postponing your meeting a week, two weeks or a month?
“Frankly, we’re also encouraging private large gatherings to not meet” as well, Elicker said. All with the hope of nipping in the bud any potential spread of infections in a city where, as of Thursday afternoon, no one had yet tested positive for the virus.
On Thursday afternoon, Gov. Ned Lamont signed an executive order that prohibits any kind of gathering anywhere in the state from having more than 250 people.
So far, six people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Connecticut as a whole, as of Thursday afternoon The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center shows that there are 127,863 confirmed cases worldwide, along with 4,718 deaths and 68,310 confirmed recoveries.
“This order applies to gatherings for social and recreational activities,” a press release from the governor’s office read. “They include but are not limited to: community, civic, leisure, sports, parades, concerts, festivals, movie screenings, conventions, fundraisers, and similar activities.”
Local public health officials have stressed the importance of washing one’s hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds at a time, as well as reaching out to a primary care provider if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms.
The rule of thumb is 100 people - most of these public hearings have nowhere near 100 people or a crowded room. Canceling the meeting is stupid.