At least 356 Town of Newmarket employees have so far been laid off as the municipality grapples with closures of its facilities in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Town workers affected by the temporary layoffs include casual, seasonal, and sessional staff in recreation and culture that spanned a variety of programming from youth to seniors, as well as school crossing guards.
“With the provincial direction to close recreation facilities, we had to suspend all recreation programs which impacted casual, seasonal, and sessional staff that would normally be directly involved,” human resources director Lynn Georgeff said. “We understand a large number of (employees) are making contact with Service Canada with regard to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.”
Ontario’s state of emergency, which was declared March 17 and will continue until at least May 12, closed schools, recreational facilities, community centres, non-essential businesses, playgrounds and more to contain the virus that has to date infected nearly 9,000 Ontarians and caused more than 420 deaths.
The staff affected by the layoff have been offered job-protected leave through what's known as a declared emergency leave, which provides employees with the right to unpaid leave when they are unable to perform their duties because of an emergency declared by the premier.
In the meantime, the town has realigned its services to ensure staff and residents remain safe and critical services and infrastructure are maintained.
For instance, in an effort to maintain the physical distancing guideline of six feet between people, essential staff working out of town facilities or with the public now work in smaller teams and on shifts. Where possible, staff are working from home and continue to serve residents online and by telephone.
Town staff, including Central York Fire Services, continue to respond to municipal emergencies such as fires, watermain breaks, road repairs, parking and bylaw enforcement during business hours and after hours.
Some staff have been redeployed, such as recreation and culture members who worked at the now-closed Newmarket Seniors' Meeting Place. They are now calling the facility’s members to check in on their needs and connect them with information while they stay at home as much as possible during the pandemic.
“We are certainly in uncharted territory and things seem to change on an hourly basis,” Georgeff said. “We continue to hold virtual meetings of our emergency operations centre and are course-correcting as things change.”
The town’s financial staff are working to determine what effect the near-lockdown of the community could have on its bottom line, depending on how long the public health measures are in place. Council will be advised in a report expected to come soon.
With the uncertainty of the impact of COVID-19, the town has curbed all discretionary spending to help offset potential financial impact from property tax deferrals and lost revenue from programming, a spokesperson said.
A special council meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 27 at 2 p.m. The agenda will be posted online April 24 and residents who wish to make comments should submit them in writing no later than two hours before the meeting starts to [email protected]. All written comments will be read aloud by Mayor John Taylor during the meeting and will form part of the public record.
The meeting will be streamed live online here.
The municipal office at 395 Mulock Dr. is temporarily closed to the public.
For more information on the Town of Newmarket’s response to COVID-19, visit here.
