7 Steps Montclair Can Take Locally On Coronavirus: Candidate

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The adage of “think globally, act locally” also applies to the new coronavirus, a candidate for the Montclair Town Council says.

Peter Yacobellis, who is running for an at large seat on the council this year, recently offered a seven-point plan to help Montclair recover from COVID-19 on a local level.

“For Montclair, as well as all of New Jersey’s municipalities, recovering from COVID-19 is going to require and demand a proactive and robust response at the municipal level,” Yacobellis said.

He continued:

“While we are all still adjusting to the new normal of our everyday lives, we need our government to be planning now for how our community will meet the enormous challenges ahead—returning students to school, restoring our small business community in the face of what could be a dramatically altered economy, reopening community and recreation programs and public events under new public health protocols; all while considering that this disease will likely return in the winter months. What long-term changes in our community life can we expect or predict, and what will this new reality require from government?”

Here are seven steps that Montclair should take on a local level amid the coronavirus crisis, according to Yacobellis.

MAKE A MASTER PLAN - Draft a master crises management plan to help re-open Montclair, based on the White House and CDC’s “Opening Up America Again” plan.

GET SUPPLIED - Make sure all municipal departments are working now to procure the supplies they need for re-opening and developing strategies for how to operate with permanent social distancing guidelines in place (e.g. sanitization standards, signage for mask and distance requirements, plexiglass barriers for service counters, six-foot spaced markers for floors).

EMERGENCY ALERTS - Automatic Opt-in of Montclair residents to the town’s Swift911 emergency notification text and email systems.

PREPARE THE BUDGET - Begin budgetary planning to accommodate what could be a 10 percent revenue reduction (based on the 2009 financial crises).

GET ORGANIZED - Form a COVID-19 commission that includes the township leadership, municipal department heads, faith leaders, medical professionals, Business Improvement District leaders and representatives from commissions and citizen organizations to get government, non-profits and the private sector working together now and to plan for a possible resurgence of COVID-19 later this year.

WORK WITH STATE/FEDS - Appoint dedicated liaisons to state and federal government to relay real-time information on aid and support. These liaisons should be members of the task force.

FIND FUNDS - Hire a grant writer for the township to help apply for grants from government agencies and private foundations, as Deputy Mayor Robin Schlager has suggested.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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