CORONAVIRUS: Milton declares COVID-19 state of emergency

The city of Milton voted Monday night to enact a local state of emergency, following the leads of other local municipalities that have taken action to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

But the declaration did not come without controversy, with the council debating for nearly two hours to what extent they were allowed to impose restrictions on citizens to protect public health.

The state of emergency that ultimately passed does several things, including:

— Closing City Hall and encouraging all transactions to take place via the drive-thru window, and removing online payment fees to encourage online payments

— Giving law enforcement officers authority to break up groups of more than 10 people that gather in public places

— Strongly encouraging citizens to reduce movements to essential travel to provide food and care for loved ones, to obtain necessary items for the care and maintenance of the home or business, or for other necessary supplies

The declaration does not close public parks, does not impose a curfew and does not enforce a shelter-in-place order, though it does encourage citizens to restrict their movements to only necessary trips.

The local state of emergency allows the city to apply for state and federal financial aid to help recoup losses caused by the pandemic.

The vote came only a couple of hours after the Department of Health revealed that a 2-year-old Santa Rosa boy is one of four county residents to be confirmed positive for the coronavirus. In Escambia County, there were 10 confirmed cases, as of Tuesday morning.

Councilwoman Shannon Rice had several objections to the declaration, including words in the document directing citizens to “comply” and “obey” with necessary emergency orders.

Rice was also worried about a line that allowed “all emergency authority for protection of the lives and property of the people of this city and continuity of government with a minimum of interruption,” saying it would turn the city into a “police state” — something Police Chief Tony Tindell adamantly denied would happen.

“We’re not going to violate people’s rights,” Tindell said, addressing the council. “We’re here to serve and to protect, and that’s simply what we’re going to do.”

Tindell added that two of his officers were having to self-quarantine after coming into contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19.

City of Milton attorney Eric Meade, who attended the meeting remotely via telephone, said words like “comply,” “direct” and “obey” were appropriate in the extraordinary circumstances.

“I would tend to agree in every other setting, but every citizen’s liberty is dependent upon not inflicting injury or harm upon any other citizen, and in this situation that has particular force,” Meade said. “Because it is precisely the gathering into groups of greater than (10 or more people) that constitutes a clear and present danger under these circumstances, where we have a contagion that is making its way through the population.”

Mayor Heather Lindsay said she believed certain words were necessary in the declaration to relay the correct tone during a time of crisis.

“I can’t help but think back to when I’m with my children and they were very young, and they don’t know all that could make them unsafe, and you are very direct with your child and you may be harsh even with your child if you think your child is unsafe and your child doesn’t know that,” Lindsay said. “It’s not our role to treat our citizens as children, but it is an analogy to correlate that when you’re in a state of emergency, there’s a different tone than when there’s not a state of emergency.”

Rice maintained her opposition to the declaration, and was the only council member who voted to oppose it. Councilwoman Peggi Smith was not in attendance.

"This is not the time to infringe on our citizens’ rights. People have died to defend these rights," Rice said. "It’s not the time to hand over our city to the city manager, the police chief and the fire chief. We should stay involved, and that’s what I feel that this is doing. This is handing this city over to non-elected officials, and that is not what our citizens want.”

The state of emergency lasts through April 30.

Annie Blanks can be reached at ablanks@pnj.com or 850-435-8632.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: CORONAVIRUS: Milton declares COVID-19 state of emergency