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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2020_04_28_O008 Continuity of Government Ordinance - AmendedThe Town of Leesburg, Virginia PRESENTED: April 3, 2020 ORDINANCE NO. 2020-0-008 ADOPTED: April 3, 2020 AMENDED: April 28, 2020 AN ORDINANCE: ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT WHEREAS, on January 31, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency in response to the spread of novel coronavirus, or COVID-19 (the "virus"); and WHEREAS, on March 12, 2020, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia declared a state of emergency in the Commonwealth of Virginia in response to the spread of the virus; and WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the President of the United States declared a national emergency, beginning March 1, 2020, in response to the spread of the virus; and WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, the Board of Supervisors of Loudoun County declared a local state of emergency (the "declaration") in Loudoun County (the "County") due to the outbreak of the virus in the County and the resulting danger to the public's health, safety, and welfare due to the transmission and contraction of the virus; and WHEREAS, on March 18, 2020, the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg consented to a declaration of a local emergency by the Town Manager finding that emergency measures are necessary to mitigate the ongoing emergency and disaster that is occurring in the Town and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the Members of the public; and WHEREAS, the Council desires to ensure the continuity of government pursuant to section 15.2-1413 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. -2- AN ORDINANCE: ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED, by the Town Council of Leesburg, Virginia, that the following rules, laws, actions, and regulations are effective immediately and shall remain so until this ordinance is repealed by the Council or until six ( 6) months from the date of adoption, whichever comes first; further, normal governmental activity shall resume subsequent to repeal or expiration of this ordinance. Any deadline continued due to this ordinance shall be reasonably adjusted by the Town Manager to ensure continuity of government. SECTION I. PART A. -GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. A-1 -Declaration of policy. Because of the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19 (the "virus"), the Town Council (the "Council") desires to ensure the continuation of effective, legally constituted leadership, authority, and responsibility in the governance of the Town during this disaster, to ensure the continuation of essential government functions and responsibilities, and to facilitate the early resumption of functions temporarily suspended. The Council has therefore found and declared it necessary to: (1) provide for additional officers who can exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the key executive, administrative, and legislative offices of the Town in the event that the incumbents thereof are unable to perform the duties and functions of their offices during the disaster; (2) modify, limit, waive, suspend, or amend certain non-essential government functions; (3) temporarily suspend certain policies and regulations; and ( 4) limit or prohibit certain public interaction at Town meetings, in Town offices, and with Town employees. Sec. A-2 -Definitions. (a) Available means the opposite of Unavailable. (b) Council means the Council of the Town of Leesburg. ( c) Disaster means the effects caused by or related to the spread of the novel corona virus disease, COVID-19, including but not limited to the injury or threat of injury to the public health, safety, and welfare and related damage, hardship, suffering, or loss of life. ( d) Deputy means a person who is presently authorized under the Virginia Code, Town Code, or Town Charter to exercise all of the powers and discharge all of the duties of an office in the event that the office is vacant or at such times as it lacks administration due to the death, absence, or incapacity of the incumbent. ( e) Emergency interim successor means a person designated pursuant to this ordinance for temporary succession to the powers and duties, but not the office, of an officer in the event -3- AN ORDINANCE: ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT that such officer or a duly authorized deputy is unavailable to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office. (f) Incumbent means the person who is entitled to exercise the powers and discharge the duties, and who is the holder, of an office by virtue of employment or appointment thereto as provided in the Virginia Constitution, Virginia Code, Town Charter, and/or the ordinances of the Town. (g) Manual means the Town of Leesburg Personnel Procedures Manual, as amended. (h) Subordinate Bodies means any local or regional board, committee, or commission created by the Council, to which the Council appoints any members, or on which the Council has a member. (i) Town Manager means the Town Manager of the Town of Leesburg or his successor, Deputy, or emergency interim successor. G) Town Charter means the Charter of the Town of Leesburg. (k) Town Code means the Code of the Town of Leesburg, as amended. (1) Unavailable means either: a. That a vacancy exists in an office and there is no duly authorized deputy to exercise all the powers and discharge all the duties of the office; or b. That the incumbent (including any duly authorized deputy exercising the powers and discharging the duties of an office because of a vacancy) and his duly authorized deputy, and all of them if more than one, are absent from the Town or unable, for physical, mental, or legal reason, to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office. (m) Virginia Code means the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. PART B. -EMERGENCY INTERIM SUCCESSORS Sec. B-1 -Applicability. The provisions of this Part shall apply to, and authorization to designate emergency interim successors is granted for, only the following (collectively, the "Departments"): (a) All department heads and deputy department heads, (b) The Clerk of the Council, ( c) The Director of Emergency Management, and (d) The Zoning Administrator. Sec. B-2 -Designation. The incumbent of each Department shall designate in writing two or more emergency interim successors to the office and specify their rank in order of succession after any duly authorized deputy. The designation of emergency interim successors shall be effective when the incumbent files in writing the name, address, and rank in order of succession of each duly authorized deputy -4- AN ORDINANCE: ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT and each emergency interim successor with the Town Manager, Town Clerk, and Director of Emergency Management. The incumbent of each Department shall file initial designations within five (5) days of adoption of this ordinance and shall file any changes of such designations with the Town Manager, Town Clerk, and Director of Emergency Management immediately upon such change. Sec. B-3 -Qualifications. No person shall be designated or serve as an emergency interim successor unless they are qualified to hold the office to which they are designated an emergency interim successor, but no provision of the Town Code or of any ordinance prohibiting an officer or employee of the Town from holding another office shall be applicable to an emergency interim successor. At the time of their designation, an emergency interim successor shall do such things, if any, as are required to qualify them to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office as to which they have been designated an emergency interim successor; provided, that the designation of an emergency interim successor for an office subject to confirmation by the Council shall not require the approval of the Council to be effective. Sec. B-4. -Assumption of powers and duties of office. If, in the event that the incumbent of a Department becomes unavailable and any deputy is unavailable, the emergency interim successor to that office who is highest in rank in order of succession and who is available shall, except for the power to appoint emergency interim successors, exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office. An emergency interim successor shall exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office only until such time as the incumbent or deputy or an emergency interim successor higher in rank in order of succession becomes available to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office or until, where an actual vacancy exists, a successor is appointed. Sec. B-5. -Restrictions on persons to be designated. No person shall be designated as an emergency interim successor for two offices at the same time. No person who is a duly authorized deputy shall be designated as an emergency interim successor for any office. Sec. B-6. -Termination of authority. Notwithstanding any other provision of this ordinance, the Town Manager may at any time terminate the authority of any one or more, or all, emergency interim successors to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of office as herein provided. The Council may at any time terminate the authority of any emergency interim successor to the Town Manager. PART C -SUSPENSION OF ADOPTED POLICIES AND LEGAL DEADLINES Sec. C-1 Suspension of Certain Chapters, Sections of the Manual -5- AN ORDINANCE: ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT 1. Subsection 3.6 Classification/Reclassification Process of Section 3, CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM, of the Manual is suspended in its entirety to allow greater flexibility in establishing classifications for existing, new or temporary positions. 2. The following subsections of Section 4, RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION, of the Manual are suspended in their entirety to allow the Town to hire, promote, reinstate or take other make other employment actions without delay: Subsections 4.2 Recruitment, 4.3 Application Screening and Distribution, and 4.4 Interviews. 3. Subsection 5.6 Pay Determination of Section 5, EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION, of the Manual is suspended in its entirety to allow greater flexibility in setting wages for new, reinstated, rehired, reassigned, and temporary employees. 4. The following subsections of Section 6, EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, of the Manual are suspended in their entirety to allow the Town greater flexibility in interpreting these policies and publish new leave guidance and categories as Federal/State legislation changes: Subsections 6.5 Annual Leave, 6.6 Sick Leave, 6.7 Compensatory Time, 6.8 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and 6.16 Leave Without Pay. 5. Section 11.14 Appeals of Evaluations of Section 11, EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION, of the Manual is suspended in its entirety in order to postpone such appeals until administratively reasonable or the Continuity of Government ordinance expires, whichever occurs first. 6. The following general changes are hereby made to Section 14, GRIEVANCE PROCESS, of the Manual: a. Except for disciplinary terminations and suspensions without pay, all grievances (whether brought under the general grievance policy or the Law Enforcement Officers' Procedural Guarantee Act) are suspended until this Ordinance expires or is terminated. All timelines for filing of non-termination grievances and the processing of non-termination grievances are tolled until this Ordinance expires or is terminated. b. For disciplinary terminations or suspensions without pay, each and every deadline shall be multiplied by a factor of three (3). For example, a five (5) workday deadline shall be automatically changed to a fifteen (15) workday deadline. 7. The following portions of Section 15, EMPLOYEE SEPARATION/RETIREMENT, of the Manual are suspended in their entirety. a. Subsection 15.4 E. and F., to eliminate certain requirements prior to initiating a reduction in workforce or reducing positions. Sec. C-2 -Suspension of Expedited Review Procedures All expedited review procedures provided by any Town rule, regulation, and the Town Code are hereby suspended. -6- AN ORDINANCE: ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT Sec. C-3-Suspension of Inconsistent Policies All policies adopted by the Council or subordinate bodies are suspended to the extent they are inconsistent with this ordinance and its authorizations. Sec. C-4 -Procurement (a) Funding and Contracts. To the extent of unobligated funds available in excess of appropriations in the approved budget, the Town Manager may enter into contracts and incur obligations necessary to protect the health and safety of persons and property, and to provide emergency assistance to persons affected by this disaster. (b) Procedures. The Town Manager may proceed without regard to time-consuming procedures and formalities prescribed by law (except mandatory constitutional requirements) pertaining to the performance of public work, entering into contracts, incurring obligations, employing workers, renting equipment, purchasing supplies and materials, and other expenditures of public funds. (c) Other Temporary Actions. The Town Manager may temporarily take any of the following actions: waive or reduce fees imposed by Town ordinance; waive enforcement, in whole or in part, of any Town ordinance; and modify, limit, waive, suspend, or amend any Town program, service, function, process, or procedure deemed non-essential. The Town Manager must apply the action uniformly for similar situations and not on a case-by-case basis. The Town Manager's actions will only be effective until the next regular meeting of the Town Council. The Town Council may ratify and extend the time for which the Town Manager's action remains in effect. Sec. C-5 -Suspension of Deadlines Notwithstanding any provision of statute, ordinance, regulation, or policy to the contrary, any deadlines requiring action by the Town Council, any of its subordinate bodies, or its officers and employees shall be suspended during this emergency and disaster. However, subordinate bodies and Town officers and employees are encouraged to take such action as is practical and appropriate to meet those deadlines. Failure to meet any such deadlines shall not constitute a default, violation, approval, recommendation, or other action. PART D-LIMITATION ON PERSON-TO-PERSON CONTACT Sec. D-1 -Public Buildings, Facilities, and Real Property The Town Manager is empowered and directed to restrict the public from entering or congregating around Town-owned buildings, facilities, and real property in the least restrictive manner reasonably necessary to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the public and Town staff. -7- AN ORDINANCE: ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT Sec. D-2-Cancellation of Meetings No more than 7 days before the regular meeting, the mayor, or in the case of a subordinate body the chair, in consultation with the other members of the body, if possible, may cancel any regular meeting of the body they serve if there is no essential business that the body needs to handle. Notice of the cancellation must be provided to the members and the public as soon as practicable. A regular meeting can only be canceled in an emergency situation out of concern for staff and members of the body. Sec. D-3 -Electronic Communication Meetings Any regularly scheduled, special, or emergency meeting of the Council or any subordinate body, may be held by solely electronic or telephonic means without a quorum of members physically present so long as the following criteria are satisfied: (a) The mayor, or in the case of a subordinate body the chair, in consultation with the other · members of the body, determines that it is impracticable or unsafe to assemble a quorum in a single location due to the catastrophic nature of the disaster. (b) All meetings shall have a live audio or video broadcast accessible through the Town website, a public access channel, or a dial-in audio number. ( c) The agenda for any meeting held under this ordinance shall: (1) affirmatively state that the meeting shall be held remotely pursuant to this Ordinance; (2) identify a person responsible for receiving public comment (the "Secretary"); and (3) contain a notice of the opportunities for public access and participation. (d) For previously-scheduled Regular Meetings: (1) The Town shall announce to the public that the meeting will be held by solely electronic or telephonic means. Agendas and the associated materials shall be posted on the Town website at least three (3) days in advance of the meeting. (2) Public Comment: Members of the public may provide written comments (including e-mail) to the Town Clerk or, for a subordinate body, that body's Secretary. Members of the public may provide audio comments as indicated on the agenda. Normal rules of order shall apply to all comments. (3) Public Hearings: Any non-emergency public hearing items may be postponed until a date certain. If the Council or subordinate body decides to proceed with a public hearing pursuant to this Sec. D-3, the following procedures shall apply: 1. The notice shall specify the time and place of hearing and the means by which persons affected may appear and present their views. 11. If an item requires statutory notice and hearing, including under Virginia Code§ 15.2-2204, the notice shall be given within the time limits imposed by statute. -8- AN ORDINANCE: ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT m. The applicant shall be given the opportunity to provide an electronic presentation (live or recorded) to the public body of up to fifteen (15) minutes. 1v. Interaction between the applicant and public body will occur via an interactive video or audio chat. v. Following the applicant's presentation, if any, to the public body, affected Members of the public shall be allowed to provide written or audio comments as indicated on the agenda. (4) Notwithstanding any procedural rule to the contrary, by simple majority vote the Council may amend the agenda of any regular meeting to consider additional agenda items, provided that the agenda items so added are related to the emergency. (e) Special Meetings: (1) The Town shall announce to the public that the meeting will be held by solely electronic or telephonic means. Notice of special meetings and the agendas and associated materials shall be posted on the Town website within a reasonable time of being made available to the public body by the Town Clerk or, for a subordinate body, that body's Secretary. (2) Public Comment: Members of the public may provide written comments (including email) to the Town Clerk or, for a subordinate body, that body's Secretary related to any agenda item. Members of the public may provide audio comments as indicated on the agenda. Normal rules of order shall apply to all comments. (f) Emergency Meetings: (1) The Town shall announce to the public that the meeting will be held by solely electronic or telephonic means. Agendas and the associated materials shall be posted on the Town website within a reasonable time of being made available to the public body by the Town Clerk or, for a subordinate body, that body's Secretary. (2) Opportunities for public access and participation during any emergency meeting shall be given using the best available method under the circumstances. (3) The nature of the emergency shall be reflected in the minutes of the meeting. (g) The fact that the meeting was held by electronic communication means, the type of electronic communication means by which the meeting was held, and the opportunities for public access and participation shall be reflected in the minutes of the meeting. Sec. D-4. -Continuation of Agenda Items The Council or any of its subordinate bodies may continue any item on an agenda for a regularly scheduled, continuation, special, or emergency meeting until a later time or date for the purposes of reviewing and considering input provided by the public, without regard to deadlines imposed by statute, policy or ordinance. No re-notification shall be required if any public hearing is continued. SECTION II. All prior ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. -9- AN ORDINANCE: ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT SECTION III. Severability. If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provision of this ordinance invalid, the decision shall not affect the validity of the ordinance as a whole or any remaining provisions of the Leesburg Town Code. SECTION IV. This ordinance shall be effective upon its adoption. PASSED this 2gth day of April, 2020. Kelly~r~ Town of Leesburg ATTEST: ~~ Clerk of Council LF\LeesburgRMS\ Town_ Clerk\Ordinances\2020\0428 Continuity of Government Ordinance -Amended