SHEBOYGAN - On Tuesday night, the Sheboygan County Executive Committee unanimously recommended that the County Board not approve a recently proposed public health ordinance after pushback from residents.
The ordinance — which would create local legislative oversight of orders made by the county's public health officer, as well as civil penalties for violations — will still go to the County Board next month for final action.
But County Administrator Adam Payne said he bets the board will vote to take no action on the ordinance.
"With all the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, people are understandably hurting, frustrated and fearful," Payne said at the meeting. "And this proposed ordinance was contributing to that angst. That certainly wasn't our intention, but it is."
When he was presenting to the Executive Committee on Tuesday, Payne spoke of misinformation surrounding the ordinance circulating on social media.
A crowd of over 100 protesters gathered outside of the Aug. 14 meeting expressing opposition to the ordinance.
"I've never seen anything like it in my career," Payne said. "Yet, among this misinformation we've heard some really helpful feedback."
That feedback contributed to the amendments made to the ordinance announced Monday by County Board Chairman Vern Koch and Payne. The new draft includes more explanation for the purpose of the ordinance, adds oversight from the County Board as a whole and eliminates any mention of businesses.
The ordinance now says that it was written in case "Sheboygan County experiences a significant spike in COVID-19 cases and our hospitals are on the brink of being overrun."
The Health and Human Services Committee unanimously recommended the original ordinance to the County Board on Aug. 14. When the board met four days later, it recommended it to the Executive Committee.
After Tuesday's recommendation not to pass the ordinance, the County Board will take final action on Sept. 15.
If this proposed ordinance is not passed by the County Board next month, the public health officer will still have the power to give orders as defined in an existing state statute.
Payne said in an email Tuesday that he hopes all of the emergency planning will be moot and people will take individual responsibility to keep the community safe.
"I know we had good intentions, but I think at this time in our community, our state, our country we all need to be listening more and striving to be more mindful, kind and civil to one another," he said during the meeting Tuesday.
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Reach AnnMarie Hilton at ahilton@gannett.com or (920) 242-3032. Follow her on Twitter at @hilton_annmarie.
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Sheboygan County committee recommends that the board not approve coronavirus-inspired public health ordinance - Sheboygan Press
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