City manager closes down city hall for five days

Hamtramck City Hall be closed from March 16 through 20.

By Charles Sercombe
Add Hamtramck City Hall to the list of places and institutions that have closed during this coronavirus pandemic.
On Sunday, City Manager Kathy Angerer announced through email that city hall will be closed for the next five day, starting Monday, March 16, through Friday, March 20.
All schools have also been closed for the next three weeks.
Angerer told The Review that later this week she will decide whether to continue the shutdown.
“We don’t know from day-to-day what’s going on,” Angerer told The Review.
As of Sunday evening, there have been 45 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, or in other words, coronavirus.
There have been no deaths in the state caused by the virus.
Hamtramck 31st District Court, located in city hall, is still conducting hearings, but is encouraging the public to interact with the court via its website, email or fax. This includes disputes regarding traffic tickets.
City bills, such as water bills and property taxes, can be paid through the internet and a kiosk in the front entrance of city hall. But Angerer is urging residents to avoid even coming to the kiosk as well.
“We are asking for the cooperation of residents during this difficult time,” Angerer said in a press release. “Unless you have an urgent issue that requires immediate in-person assistance, we ask that you curtail visits to city hall until public health officials advise us that this crisis has ended. While the city remains committed to serving the public, the best way we can do that right now is to do our part to mitigate this crisis.”
You can also get more information by going to the city’s Facebook page or its website at: www.hamtramck.us
Police, fire and ambulance services will continue, and those personnel will continue to report for work. Also, water main breaks will be fixed as they occur.
Angerer stressed that city hall employees will continue to be paid during this break.
In the meantime, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has banned social gatherings of more than 250 people. However, she is also considering closing down bars and restaurants. Ohio and Illinois have already taken that action.
Health officials are encouraging everyone to observe what’s being called “social distancing.” That entails not shaking hands, or even elbow bumps, and keeping a distance of at least six feet from one another.
Posted at 7:15 p.m., March 15, 2020

Updated March 19