Rising Sun Mayor Responds To COVID-19

The Executive Order will be effective as of today, March 25.

(Rising Sun, Ind.) - Whereas, novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) was declaired a Public Health Emergency by Governor Eric J. Holcomb on the 6th day of March, 2020 and a National Emergency by President Donald J. Trump on the 13th day of March, 2020;

Whereas, on the 23rd day of March, 2020, Governor Holcomb issued Executive Order 20-08 which ordered Indiana residents to Stay at Home unless they are engaged in Essential Activities, Essential Governmental Functions, and/or Essential Business Operations. These terms are defined in Executive Order 20-08 and, even if engaged in these permitted activities, Indiana residents are still required to maintain Social Distancing Requirements; and

Whereas, Executive Order 20-08 directs local governments to “…determine its Essential Governmental Functions and identify employees and/or contractors necessary to the performance of those functions.”.

Based upon the foregoing, beginning on the 25th day of March, 2020, the following restrictions are hereby Ordered to be put in place to protect the health of the citizens of Rising Sun, Indiana:

1. All City properties are closed to the public until further Order of the City. Any non-emergency, essential business that cannot be delayed may be completed by calling the Mayor’s Office at 812-438-3340 or the Mayor’s Executive Secretary at 812-290-3668. Your information will be shared with the proper City department. When available, a representative from the City of Rising Sun will contact you regarding your request or call. Non-emergency situations that may require police, fire, and/or medical assistance should be directed to the Ohio County Dispatch at 812-438-3737. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, CITIZENS SHOULD CALL 911;
2. All City departments shall remain operational in a very limited capacity and a policy will be put in place to allow departments to remain functional while also adhearing to Social Distancing Requirements found in Executive Order 20-08;
3. If some or all of the employee’s job functions can be performed from home, the employee is expected to perform those job functions from home during the employee’s regularly scheduled non-overtime work hours. Department heads will provide individual employees with any directives pertaining to working from home;
4. Employees will be limited to forty (40) total hours combined between in-office hours and at-home hours. Employees will only be eligible to receive Overtime compensation if they are called into work OUTSIDE of normal business hours and this call-in causes the employee to exceed their fourty (40) hours.
5. During the employee’s regularly scheduled non-overtime work hours during the emergency, the employee is considered “on-call” and, therefore, must be available by phone to respond to calls from other City officials and must be available to return to their work station within two (2) hours of notice from their Department Head or his/her designee;
6. The employee may not work or earn compensation from any other source during the employee’s regularly scheduled non-overtime work hours (i.e., for which the employee would earn Emergency Stay Home Pay). Any employee who violates this provision may be subject to civil and/or criminal liability; and
7. The Mayor’s Office will prepare an Ordiance Amending the 2020 Salary Ordiance to present to the Common Council of the City of Rising Sun, Indiana for consideration with the intention being that employees continue to be paid during this emergency situation.

All of which is Ordered by the Mayor of the City of Rising Sun, Indiana on this 24th day of March, 2020.

Steve Slack- Mayor
City of Rising Sun