True character emerges in a crisis - from Mayor John B. Allard II

Updated March 24, 2020

3 p.m., March 24, 2020
By Roseville Mayor John B. Allard II

True to our community’s culture, we are seeing the majority of our residents and businesses looking out for each other and complying with directives at the county and state level.

We have major healthcare systems in Roseville, and I want to thank healthcare workers, many of whom are Roseville residents, for your incredible dedication to our collective health and safety. The same gratitude goes to our first responders, utility workers, and all of you who are looking out for each other and doing your part by staying home to protect all of us.

True to our City’s culture, our staff remains hard-working—and humble—through this crisis to keep this community safe. Some brief highlights of how we’re serving the community:

Emergency operations—Our staff is on daily calls with Placer County Public Health. There are currently 20 confirmed cases in Placer County. For the latest information, go to placer.ca.gov/covid19. Our City’s emergency management team is operating as well, responding to the latest health directives from the County, State, and Federal government and responding to the needs of our community as well.

Medical calls—Our firefighters are on the front line of medical calls and are following protocols to protect themselves from exposure to the virus.

Police patrols—With the number of vacant buildings and the general anxiety people feel about the situation, we’ve redeployed our police staff to put more officers on patrol in our neighborhoods.

Small business loans—Today we’re announcing a $1 million small-business loan program to fill a gap in this tough economy. Our economic development and housing staff have been putting the final touches on this program, along with another one to prevent homelessness.

Homelessness prevention—We’re also announcing today that the City is allocating another $500,000 in rapid-rehousing and homelessness-prevention funds to help our residents keep a roof over their heads. This is in addition to the $5.5 million the City administers annually from state and federal sources to homelessness-prevention and affordable housing each year.

Reliable utilities—Our electric, water, sewer, and garbage services keep going without a hitch.

Trails, parks, and dog parks remain open—They’re vital to the health of our neighborhoods and are getting heavy use. We ask you to keep six-feet of separation. Yesterday, we closed playgrounds, picnic shelters, and the skate park because we don’t have the resources to sanitize them frequently enough. Golf courses remain closed, as do libraries, Adventure Clubs and preschools.

Reliable, relevant communications—We update our website, social media, and enews with the latest information from the City, frequently asked questions we’re receiving, links to state and federal facts and guidance, and a variety of other resources. We’re posting safety messages on all of our changeable message signs along major roadway corridors. And we’re promoting our City’s COVID-19 website for the latest city-related information.

Public participation at City Council—We’re conducting our April 1 City Council meeting mostly remotely but without the public in attendance. Public participation and comment will occur through email ([email protected]) and phone before and during the meeting. As usual, it will be streamed live on our website, YouTube channel, and government-access station.

Essential transit services—Roseville Transit continues to provide regular service for essential needs. We’ve increased sanitizing on our fleet and allowed for social distances on our buses.

Fiscal responsibility has been a top priority for our city for decades. We’ve long recognized the importance of setting aside reserves for emergencies to maintain services. This is uncharted territory for our city, nation, and world. We are closely monitoring legislation and funding availability.

I know these are uncertain times and there is a lot we don’t know. What you can be assured of is that Roseville is a well-managed city and that we will continue to act responsibly to preserve the quality of life that we live and work here to enjoy.

Thank you for taking your role seriously in protecting our community. Together, we can do this.