Municipal offices across Massachusetts are closed to the public because of COVID-19, but many employees are still required to come in.
Governor Charlie Baker this week ordered all but "essential" services to close. Essential work in local government can include services from tax collection to election certification.
The Greenfield city clerk's office is still processing birth and death certificates and dog licenses. The office has been staggering schedules to reduce the number of people in the building. Some workers measured the distance between work stations to ensure at least six feet.
Terra Cadran, who works in the clerk’s office, said she feels safe in the building.
Asked if she'd rather work from home, Cadran said, “Wouldn't everybody? But work still has to get done.”
Danielle LeTourneau, the Greenfield mayor's chief of staff, said supervisors have gotten creative in assigning people tasks they can do from home. But she said most of the two dozen city hall workers are still coming in at least part time.
"We have such a small staff, which is why most of us are deemed essential," Letourneau said.
She said many meetings are now done through video-conferencing — even when everyone is in the building.
In Northampton, city clerk Pamela Powers said her office is big enough for social distancing.
“The desks are pretty well spaced apart," Power said. "There’s dividers between the desks so we’re not face to face.”
And she said workers are also being extra cautious with mail that comes in from the outside, using gloves and allowing letters to sit for five days before opening. (The U.S. Post Office has said there’s no evidence COVID-19 is spread through the mail.)
Powers said most of her staff is still working full time — at least for now — and no one has asked to stay home because they're worried about exposure to the virus.
"You know, we are public servants," she said. "So from that perspective, most people feel pretty obligated to still continue to serve the public."
If a government office does report a case of COVID-19, administrators said that could change the rules again.
In Springfield, an employee at the courthouse tested positive, and most of the court staff is now working remotely.
