From Jason Bowsza 1st Selectman Town of East Windsor 3/16/2020
Good afternoon,
I want to provide you all with an update as to where things stand pertaining to Town policies and procedures during the COVID-19 emergency.
This morning, I held an Emergency Management meeting with key departments who have a response role for a public health emergency. After consultation with that body, I have issued a Declaration of Public Emergency and Civil Preparedness. That declaration is attached.
I am restricting public meetings to only the Board of Selectman, Board of Finance, Charter Revision Commission, Planning and Zoning Commission, and Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Commission. All other boards should suspend activity until further notice.
We are currently working to ensure that Town meetings can be held remotely, either by video conference or teleconference. The public is encouraged NOT to attend public meetings, but to listen in remotely. The Town may continue to use the YouTube transmission in the short term, or may be relegated to conference calls only, if circumstances warrant it. Ever measure will be taken to ensure that transparency is preserved, within the confines of public health considerations.
I have also issued a Town-wide policy pertaining to next steps, which is also attached. The policy addresses a number of things:
• Safety first: employees are required to take basic precautionary health measures. Keep your work place clean; wipe down commonly touched surfaces; use proper coughing/sneezing etiquette; and if you are sick STAY HOME;
• We are working with appropriate vendors to perform a deep clean of Town buildings. This will happen as soon as possible in all Town buildings, and it will likely happen more than once. Disinfectant wipes will be distributed to each office in Town government;
• Town-related travel outside State of Connecticut, with the exception of normal working commutes between home and work, will not be permitted effective immediately, until further notice by the First Selectman or Chief of Police;
• Any employee who has travelled outside the State of Connecticut within the last 14 days will need to fill out the form at the back of the policy document and return it to the Office of the First Selectman. Employees who have done so utilizing mass transportation may be required to quarantine from any Town location for fourteen (14) days. Employees who are required to quarantine at home and are able to work from home may do so on a case-by-case basis as determined by their supervisor. Otherwise, employees may use their accrued time;
• The Town will require employees who are sick, or who have been exposed to someone who is sick with the coronavirus, to stay home;
• Employees may tele-work on a case-by-case basis. Not all positions will be eligible, based on the nature of the work, but supervisors will be permitted to make the determination.
• Employees who are not quarantined, but who are not eligible to work from home, will be entitled to use their accrued time;
• Social distancing during the workday: employees are requested to avoid, whenever possible, meeting people face to face, or at least minimizing the amount of close-quarter, face-to-face interaction; avoid unnecessary travel; avoid congregating in groups, regardless of size; bring your lunch and eat at your desks.
Supervisors have been asked to prepare a number of scenarios and submit them to me by the end of the day today for consideration:
1) What functions within your departments can/should be done from home, and what functions cannot/should not be done from home;
2) Please develop a schedule within your departments to minimize the number of employees necessary in the office on any given day, and a workable rotation to keep offices open with minimal staff, as well as a brief summary of what services may be impacted because of this (for example: employee “A” will be scheduled for Monday-Wednesday and is able to perform “X”, and employee “B” will be scheduled for Thursday-Friday and is able to perform “Y.”);
3) Please poll your staff to ensure that anyone who may be working from home has enabled the voice mail function that sends an email to the employee upon receipt of a voicemail.
Please understand that circumstances are evolving rapidly, and the attached policy may change. As those changes are warranted, I will provide an update. Any questions, please feel free to let me know.