The Town of Leesburg will remain in a state of local emergency through early spring.
On Tuesday night, the council voted 4-1-1 to authorize a renewal of the town’s continuity of government ordinance related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The adopted ordinance extends the expiration date of the state of local emergency to April 3, 2021, which would mark a year from when the original ordinance was adopted.
Town Manager Kaj Dentler said the council action would keep Leesburg in lockstep with the state government, which continues under a state of emergency, and also would allow the town to remain eligible for any state or federal funds. He said he did not want the town to be disqualified from funding opportunities because of not being in a state of emergency.
Absent council action the state of local emergency would have expired Oct. 3. The six-month extension is the maximum allowed under state code, Dentler said. He added that should Gov. Ralph Northam end Virginia’s state of emergency sooner the Town Council could follow suit.
“At some point the governor is going to end the declaration, I just don’t know when that is,” Dentler said. “All I can do is position the town accordingly.”
Thus far, Dentler has not had to take any action under the continuity of government ordinance. Waiving downtown parking fees, which began in mid-March and will run through the end of the year, was done as a way to help downtown businesses, he said. The ordinance will allow council members to continue remote participation in meetings, though a minimum of four council members must be physically present for a meeting.
Councilman Tom Dunn dissented on the vote, citing his misgivings about the long extension. Councilwoman Suzanne Fox abstained.
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September 09, 2020 at 11:13PM
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