Mayor Mike Waid talks about the Town of Parker through COVID
What crazy times we are in! I’m sure we would all agree that 2020 has presented many challenges to all of us. Most of all COVID-19 has affected every aspect of our lives and the Town of Parker has been hard at work keeping things on track for our citizens.
Early in the year the Town decided to make some preemptive changes to help handle the unknown effects of the virus on our citizens and our local economy. Town Council revised our operating budget for the remainder of 2020 to reflect an anticipated reduction in sales tax and we cut expenses to help manage our operations.
I worked to secure a grant of face masks for any local businesses who wanted to have them for their staff and customers, and we implemented sanitation and safety practices in all our Town facilities.
Similar measures were implemented at the County level and all of our pre-planning and adjustments have been very successful. Here we are, closer to the end of and Douglas County...AND Parker… have fared extremely well in the battle against COVID. Our health care systems are far from stretched and are prepared to handle what the future holds. Our operations in the Town are strong and our tax base is very stable. In fact, thanks to our citizens still spending money locally, we were able to roll back some of the project cuts and eliminate all furlough days for our staff for 2020.
Many people have worked hard and should be thanked during this time, but none more so than YOU...our great citizens of Parker. Because you have been diligent about washing your hands, staying home if not feeling well, following state mandates and doing what YOU feel is best to protect you and your family, our infection numbers, hospitalizations, and deaths are extremely low. Keep up the good work and keep supporting each other and our local businesses.
Many things change on a daily basis in regards to COVID, so keep yourself informed with the latest updates and data. The Town of Parker has compiled a central resource area where you can find all you need to know about what is going on with COVID. Simply go online to ParkerOnline.org/COVID19 to get up to date information and links to online resources like Tri-County Health and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Again, I’d like to give a big THANK YOU to all of you...our amazing citizens...for supporting each other during these crazy times. Please take care of yourself, those around you, and please keep supporting locally owned businesses in Parker.