County of Hastings Declares Public Emergency
Hastings County Warden Rick Phillips made the following comments to Quinte News Thursday morning.
“As of 8:30 a.m., this morning, March 26, 2020 I (Rick Phillips) have declared a Public Emergency in accordance with the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act,” states Rick Phillips, Warden of Hastings County.
“Having conferred with my fellow County Councillors and our senior leadership team it is my opinion that it is necessary for me as Warden, to make the declaration at this time. There are four main reasons for this critical action,” said Phillips:
A strong show of support for the Provincial Declaration of Emergency;
To support the continuity of operations of the County in order to continue to provide services to the residents in our Manors, patients of our paramedic services, our clients and the public;
Taking the necessary actions to support the health and safety of our staff;
To support where we can, the operations of our local member municipalities.“Yesterday, I spoke with Mayors of the Cities of Belleville, Quinte West and Prince Edward County about the declaration.
Both Mayor Ferguson from Prince Edward County and Mayor Harrison from Quinte West advised that they intend on making their declarations simultaneously with Hastings County.
“As neighbours and partners in the provision of critical services to our residents and businesses it is important for us to work together as we deal with this pandemic,” Phillips stated.
“Let me also make it clear that the County of Hastings has already taken steps to ensure that it has its continuity of operations plans in place and continues to deliver essential/critical services to the public.”
“We have taken the necessary step of closing our offices in Belleville, Quinte West, Madoc and Bancroft to the walk-in public.
Our staff continue to provide services through on-line and phone arrangements,”added Phillips.
“The County of Hastings, its 14 local municipal members and our partners will, I am convinced, do all that we can to support each other during this uncertain and difficult period. Together we are strong,”stated Phillips.-
