Mayor Gahan's Emergency Resolutions All Approved by New Albany City Council

Two days ago, Mayor Gahan called a special meeting of the City Council for Friday, March 27th to address 5 resolutions relating to the COVID-19 crisis.

Council members virtually met over the “Zoom” platform and passed all five resolutions.

The first resolution gives flexibility to the administration during the declared disaster crisis, allowing the administration to waive certain formalities related to managing the crisis and protecting the citizens of New Albany. Per state statute, oversight and reporting still apply and expenditures are only allowed if they are related to the emergency.

“We wanted to be transparent and open in our handling of this emergency and sought approval of the city council in seeking the means to do so, whereas other cities and communities have waived statutory requirements addressing this emergency for without council approval,” stated Mayor Gahan. “This simply gives us the flexibility to respond to the crisis appropriately and swiftly, and I appreciate the council’s support as we work to slow the spread of COVID-19.”

The resolution passed 8-1.

The second resolution waived late fees for payments to the sewer utility for a period of time during the duration of the crisis. Sewer bills are still owed, but this action allows residents to be flexible when making payments and budgetary decisions. The resolution passed unanimously 9-0.

The third resolution allowed city workers to continue working from home and “on-call”, where possible, during the crisis. The resolution passed 9-0.

The fourth resolution supports the Caesars Foundation’s COVID-19 Small Business Emergency Forgivable Loan Program. The council approved $50,000 towards the fund which assists local businesses with 50 employees or less. The money approved will be made available to New Albany businesses regardless of age. The resolution passed 8-1.

The fifth resolution asked the council to support our local school’s effort to feed children 18 and under meet their nutritional and health needs. The council approved $10,000 to assist the New Albany-Floyd County School Corporation feed children for the duration of the crisis. The council approved the resolution 9-0.

Mayor Gahan thanked everyone for their effort and stated, “We will get through this. But it will take cooperation and teamwork from every Hoosier and every business to get back on track.”