Red Deer City Hall is temporarily closing to the public, as of Tuesday afternoon, to protect staff and citizens and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Effective at 4:30 p.m., City Hall will be closed to the public until further notice. Residents and businesses are advised to continue doing business with the city by email or phone.
“For the safety of staff and citizens, we have made the difficult decision to close public access to City Hall for the time being,” said emergency operations centre director Karen Mann.
“City staff will have continued access to the building as needed, but have been encouraged to work from home, wherever possible.”
Public access was previously constrained to the main floor of City Hall and citizens were asked to pursue other ways of paying their bills.
MyCity is continuing to provide residents and business owners with access to information about their city accounts, including business licences, permit applications, utilities and taxes. The online tool is available 24-hours a day, seven days a week at www.reddeer.ca/mycity.
Customer service at Sorensen Station will remain open for people to purchase Red Deer Transit passes. Additional safety measures were put in place to ensure the safety of transit staff and customers.
The city’s call centre will continue to operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 403-342-8111 and residents are encouraged to phone with non-emergency inquiries about city policies and operations.
The city reminds residents that customers can defer water, sewer and waste utility payments for 90 days with no penalties, if they are struggling to pay their bills.
Customers wishing to defer their bills do not need to call the city.
Deferral will happen automatically if their bill is not paid, and the full balance will be due at the end of the 90-day deferral, June 15.
The city encourages customers who are able to pay their bills to continue doing so.