 Kevin Dorn welcome. We're so glad you have some time today. I know you're very busy as the City Manager of South Burlington Why don't we start with your reaction and the city's response to the stay-at-home stay safe order of the governor? we have Had all non-essential personnel now staying at home. They're either working from home or if they can't work from home They're on paid administrative leave. So we're in compliance with the governor's orders our first responders of course our police and firefighters and our some members of our Water treatment facility are essential employees and have to be in And then I'm in and the deputy city manager We're trading off being in so everybody else library Public works public works is available to be called in but they're off Recreation parks planning and zoning and so forth are now either working from home or they're Unadministrative leave. What are you and Tom Hubbard your deputy doing? We're trading off days today's my day Yeah, and every other day we're trading off. So one of us one of us is always here And what kind of responsibilities? I'm sure your days are completely full But can you give us a little snapshot of what you're concerning yourself with? Well staying in touch with our Department heads. So the work continues to go on in the city a lot of people working from home And so we maintain contact with our department heads today. For instance, we had a 10 o'clock management team leading meeting so all of our managers participated in that meeting About 15 of us and then at noon today. We had what we're kind of calling an employee city hall Our town hall meeting We had about 35 members of our team who dialed in or called in just to get an update on what's going on With city services and in their departments Each of our department heads then lauren glenn is talking directly with their employees on a regular basis So there's a lot of communications going on a lot of monitoring of the state Department of health and the governor's websites A lot of discussion about planning and continuity of operation as the situation changes Do you feel that your continuity of operations plan was up to par for this? this event emergency Well, it's only as good as the the the health If we had large segments of our police department or fire department who were In quarantine or were not able to work we would we would start to get into a problem And we're working with other communities on a mutual aid agreement That would help help across border if that occurred. But yeah, I'd have to say that That as best we could have been we were prepared for this From an emergency standpoint And what is it you think important for people in south burlington the residents to know What's important for you to communicate to them? Absolutely great question. What I want to communicate with them is very simple The essential services of the city of south burlington continue to be provided uninterrupted our police are on patrol Our firefighters and ambulance teams are responding to calls just as they always do The sewage treatment plant is fully operational and staffed Our partner at champlain water district is delivering Clean pure water that is as good as it has ever been So the essential services of city government That the public expects are being provided and will continue to be provided So if this lasts for two months, which is entirely possible What how are you planning for that? What does that bring to mind for you in terms of what you need to do in a leadership position? First and foremost concern for my team members health If this extends two months the probability of infection Goes up And when I have critical team members or any team member for that matter who is infected in this manner by a dangerous virus that causes concern for me but um our our Public safety team leaders are staffing in a manner that creates some reserve capacity In case this happens primarily in the police department And so I think we're well situated to to ride this out again. I I mentioned before there is a a draft Of a mo you between the the various communities and internship in county to provide mutual aid And that could see our fire or our ambulance teams going more into other communities or our police department sharing those resources across borders Uh and helping one another out and I think the strength of the region will will shine through here Because we are all in this together as many have said and that includes our public safety Are you satisfied with governor scott's response to this crisis? Yeah, I think so I think um You can always You can always find something to criticize and hindsight being this monday morning quarterback I don't really have anything to criticize. Um I think they've been out in front of this. I think that the health department and the governor's office are Are really looking at this and it's a worst-case scenario. I know that they are planning very very hard For contingencies and on the on the basis that it would be a worst-case scenario Of course, we all hope for a best-case scenario But I I have a sense from what i'm hearing and who i'm talking to that they are doing an enormous amount of planning around this And uh, and I have confidence that they're gonna they're gonna come up with the best solutions I imagine you're also concerned with the economic implications of this crisis on the city's finances Yes, we're already The deputy manager tom hubbard who is our Treasurer and I have already talked about this. We've already come up with projections for the remainder of the fiscal year And started we've instituted a spending freeze on all spending So it all has to now be approved By tom or I if it has to go forward and it's a critical thing so things like Important medical supplies for the fire department We're gonna we're going to approve that of course But other kind of discretionary spending that we would otherwise be doing there's a hold on it and uh It will have a significant impact on our budget It will have a devastating impact on our tourism and hospitality industry and we know that already We appreciate all that the united states congress is doing to try to backstop some of that with With the hospitality industry in particular, but now with the stay at home at home order Our manufacturers are feeling this our construction workers are feeling this and all as well So it's going to have a huge impact on the economy How much does the rooms and meals tax bring in to south brollington? Well, we the local option tax in total So we have a percent on sales and a percent on rooms meals and alcohol is about 3.7 million dollars annually So that's a big chunk of Revenue for us but We're planning that and and and fortunately in a sense The impact is going to span two fiscal years And so it's two budgets that will absorb as opposed to just one in this case How is the city council faring are they continuing to meet? They're doing great. Um, they are meeting electronically now They've adapted to this new technology, but they've decided that they will not take up any What you would deem to be more controversial issues until such time as the public can fully participate We're in the middle of interim zoning, which is in and of itself Controversial and they have decided to set that aside until all parties who want to participate will be able to participate in in a robust way They'll continue to make decisions about vital city business Approving disbursements any legal decisions that have to be made and so forth But anything that's policy significant policy related It could be deemed as controversial. They've set aside And will there be other Commissions meeting during this time The development review board is going to continue to to meet electronically just like the council is Um, the planning commission has suspended its meetings until further notice and all of our city committees Um that come underneath the city council all of them have suspended their meetings So there are no meetings going on in south burlington public meetings of the or of the public bodies Except for the council and the drb So I imagine this is uh, it has really called on your leadership skills And I wonder what What kind of reflections you have on that leading in a time of crisis? Well, it helps to be an old guy like me And and many of us my age have been through difficult times and in different jobs in the past So I guess I I guess I kind of build on on that Leadership has to be calm. It has to be thoughtful. Uh, it has to be collaborative Uh, and I think that's all things that our leadership team here myself deputy manager Tom Hubbard and all of our department heads are very good at it's a very seasoned very experienced very smart A group of people who I'm privileged to work with And we share that burden together and I have total confidence in them I found in our organization that The flexibility and the problem-solving capacity is is just been breathtaking. Isn't it? Yeah I've got I'm fortunate also in addition to the some of the older folks like me. I've got a bunch of young folks too who are Brilliant young people and to sit back and watch them problem solve is is is fun to watch so um, but that combination of youth and energy and and and a more grizzled Experience population. I think is going to work well for our community So I imagine this for all of us. It's very stressful for a variety of reasons How are you relaxing? How are you finding some outlet in this intense period? um I don't know. It's I'm fortunate that my I have one of my daughter's home who's having who's able to work from home She's up from boston and so I get to spend a lot more quality time with her I've told my staff lauren glenn and I said this to the to the Meeting that we had the town hall meeting This is a terrible thing, you know, we have people who are dying We have people who are scared. We have families that are concerned about their financial future about um about their neighbors It's just a terrible terrible thing that's going on but I've told my team take advantage of this time You know reconnect with your family Learn how to play bridge Take up a hobby Get exercise get outside and get exercise But Don't let this go by and look back When we go back to a normal schedule and say gosh, I I I could have done something or I could have wasted I wasted a lot of time um Use this time constructively Uh, and hopefully with family members to to strengthen those bonds. I know that's hard to say but in in these very very difficult times you got to find a silver lining such as it is and Um, this is this is in a sense a rare Unwanted but rare opportunity to be able to do those things Um that you wouldn't otherwise be able to do in our very very hectic lives these days So in addition to assuring the people of south burlington that there is a continuity of operations And they will be safe and the infrastructure is working. Is there any message that you would like to give them? Abide by what the governor is saying There's a reason they've asked us to stay at home Um, the social distancing aspects of this are important They they are working with the very best professionals in the medical field both in vermont and nationally I would say to our um our residents Abide by what the governor is asking us all to do We are one great big team And we've got to pull together on this I want to thank you so much for your time I've just thought of one more question which which is is there anything in south burlington neighbor to neighbor small scale Help that's happening that you've seen that is inspiring yeah, I I know our police officers have always had this morning call program With seniors so we have a lot of seniors like most communities do and there's a daily call that goes out to a group of them Just to make sure that they're okay in the morning and now our police department is following up on that by Working with those people to get them needed prescriptions Needed supplies into their homes. These are shut-in people anyway and And now they're even more cut off The food shelf here in south burlington continues to be open and will continue to provide things for people in need And then you hear stories anecdotally about neighbors helping neighbors People who are sick or maybe sick or have to self-quarantine Of neighbors just stepping up to the plate and saying hey, I'll go to the store for you And more I hear more and more of those stories creative ideas on how we can help each other. It's very it's a it's a very Thoughtful approach to this and people are pitching in And vermont I think is well suited in a lot of ways for this kind of small scale action. Don't you? Well, absolutely. I think Irene opened our eyes to the need for that on a statewide on almost a statewide basis and Now we do have a statewide crisis and and It's that same ethic that is coming to play here and it's and it's great to see Kevin doran. Thank you so much city manager of south burlington We really appreciate your time and of course if you have any messages or anything you'd like to get out Please don't hesitate to reach out. We're happy to help Thank you very much and thanks for this opportunity. All right, kevin. Thank you Okay