Mount Horeb Board Votes On Declaration Of Emergency

The Mount Horeb Village Board unanimously approved an emergency declaration last week authorizing village president Randy Littel and village administrator Nic Owen to wield joint executive authority to implement measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think it’s pretty straightforward,” commented Owen.

“[It’s] just trying to keep day-to-day operations as normal as possible in these trying times,” he continued.

The resolution is expected to stay in effect until the State of Wisconsin’s public health emergency declaration is lifted.

The vote occurred midway through a virtual meeting that began exactly half an hour late – at 7:30 rather than 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1 - due to technical difficulties. Members of the board, along with village staff and guests, took part in the meeting through video and telephone. While the makeshift setup took some time to get running properly, and did lead to some temporary confusion about who made which motions, in the end the meeting ran relatively smoothly as the board worked through a short agenda that included multiple important agenda items, including an update on the April 7 election, a fond farewell for departing board member Brenda Monroe, and the emergency declaration.

The declaration says the pandemic “presents an imminent threat of a disaster that may impact medical care and other critical systems within the County and the Village.” It goes on the say that “a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional response is necessary to undertake efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19” and that “the Village will be continuing preparedness efforts and response to the outbreak for weeks and potentially months to come.” Because the circumstances surrounding the outbreak are fluid in nature and oftentimes can change on short notice, “the Village may need to take quick action and make rapid decisions during this public health emergency.” The measure says it will allow the village president and village administrator “to implement measures deemed necessary for the Village based on information and guidelines as they are made available by the Federal Government, Centers for Disease Control, State Government, and Department of Health Services, among other sources.”

In essence, the Village Board of Trustees authorized the Village President and Village Administrator to have joint executive authority “to implement measures they determine to be necessary in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.” “[I]n order to protect the public peace, health and safety, preserve lives and property, economic stability, and insure cooperation and coordination, a Declaration of Local State of Emergency is hereby declared until such time that the State of Wisconsin’s public health emergency declaration is lifted, and the Board does hereby ratify the Village Administrator’s Emergency Proclamation due to COVID-19,” it continues.

The measure makes available the “full allocation of Village resources … to ensure the continuation of core Village services in the midst of the pandemic.”

The declaration says Littel and Owen would also seek counsel from Village Emergency Government Director Jenny Minter and Village Legal Counsel and both “will evaluate measures and response from other cities and governments in Wisconsin, as available, to assist in determining the direction the Village may follow.

In anticipation of federal relief and reimbursement becoming available, all Village departments are being instructed to track expenses related to efforts to protect the public and prevent the spread of COVID-19, and other public sector entities within the Village.