Council directed staff to prepare a resolution to repeal the City of Billings' declaration of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 16, 2020, City Council passed Resolution 20-10856 declaring a state of emergency due to the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 and the resulting threat posed to the health and welfare to the community of Billings. This resolution was a joint resolution with Yellowstone County.   

On June 30, 2021, the Governor issued Executive Order 10-2021, which rescinded the emergency order for Montana based on the state's vaccine distribution plan and the decline of COVID-19-related hospitalizations. The Governor stated in his order that "conditions no longer warrant the continuation of the state of emergency."

It does not appear that rescinding the local declaration will affect any grant applications or affect any federal funding opportunities because it is generally a declaration made at the state level that would have such an impact. Therefore, there is no fiscal reason to maintain the local declaration of a state of emergency.

City Council may:

• Approve; or,
• Not Approve

The local declaration does not impact any funding decisions, the operative declaration that generally affects federal funding decisions is made at the state level.