Entities respond to Coronavirus spread
Snyder Mayor Pro-Tem Steve Highfield, on Monday, declared a state of emergency that Snyder Fire Chief Perry Westmoreland said will start the process of being reimbursed by FEMA for expenses related to the city’s response to the Coronavirus, as well as give Snyder Mayor Tony Wofford broad powers in the community.
As an example, Westmoreland said Wofford could order that a grocery store set store hours so that it is open only to senior citizens for the first two hours of each day, before it opened to the general public. It would also allow Wofford to set group size limits and close businesses in the interest of public health, Westmoreland said.
Monday’s declaration lasts seven days and will have to be renewed next week in order to extend the declaration, Westmoreland said. Scurry County issued a similar declaration earlier Monday. The council approved the city’s annual audit as well as a contract between the Snyder Fire Department and Brycer, LLC.
The auditors issued a clean opinion and said the city currently has about 12 months worth of operating funds in its general fund reserves.
According to Fire Marshall Nathan Hines, the contract with Brycer will streamline building safety inspections. He said there was no cost to the city for the service, like Abilene and Lubbock, are using the system.
“It will reduce false alarms and increase safety,” Hines said.
The city’s attorney is still updating the personnel policy related to Coronavirus, so no vote on the policy was taken by the city council on Monday.