Bella Vista staying busy despite closed doors

BELLA VISTA — While the city has canceled meetings and closed doors to the general public to prevent potential covid-19 spread, the city staff remains active.

The City Council meeting scheduled for April 20 and April 27 have both been canceled and all city offices, including the front entrance to the police and fire stations, are closed to the general public.

Mayor Peter Christie said while, as of last week, there were no confirmed cases reported by the Arkansas Department of Health in Bella Vista, the city is taking these measures to be cautious and ensure safety for workers and the public.

While the city’s physical locations are closed, city staff is working to continue providing the services residents need and expect, he said.

Several city employees are working from home and their office lines are forwarding to cell phones to ensure they’re available to help the public, he said. Ongoing projects — such as the bond-funded police and fire facilities approved by the public in March — are still in the works.

“You can’t just go into paralysis,” Christie said.

Police officers, firefighters, building inspectors and

Street Department workers are in the field, while other workers are working from home he said.

Emergency medical personnel have plenty of personal protective equipment, and newly-acquired tablets allow them to communicate directly with doctors at the hospital when necessary, he added.

With projected losses in sales tax revenue, the city is also trimming its budget, he said.

“We’ve put together a three-tier budget, or I guess you’d call it a recovery plan,” Christie said.

The first tier, an 8% cut focused on less essential items such as travel, magazine subscriptions and cleaning city staff has taken over, is already in place.

It’s hard to say if this will be an adequate cut because this is fairly unknown territory, he said.

The second tier looks at trimming capital improvements, he said, while the third will cut benefits.

A major goal with the cuts is to avoid layoffs and furloughs, he said.

City staff is constantly examining the financial model and Bella Vista is communicating with other cities in the area sharing all information to ensure every municipality has the best chance of getting through this crisis, he said.

“We’re trying to get a coordinated front going here,” he said.

It’s hard to say how much of a hit the city might take, he added. While restaurants have been closing or slowing down drastically, grocery stores saw an abundance of business early on and online orders may be increasing with people staying home, he said.

“I want to thank all the folks who live in Bella Vista who have been supporting their restaurants through the carryout or delivery,” Christie said.

Meeting cancellations resulted from caution and legal uncertainty, he said.

Initially, he said, there was some uncertainty about the state law’s requirements for a council meeting and it was believed a remote meeting held over the internet may not be legal and council members must physically occupy the same structure for a legal quorum.

That question has been answered and the city has the option of holding virtual meetings and may invoke that option in May, he said.

Council also pulled as many items early as possible, meaning there simply would not be much on an April meeting agenda, he added. Keith Bryant may be reached by email at kbryant@nwadg.com.