Tilbury Municipal building closed again

By Bird Bouchard, Local Journalism Initiative Ridgetown Independent News

Those looking to access Municipal Service Centres in Tilbury, Ridgetown and Dresden are going to have to wait even longer.

Despite original plans to re-open on Jan. 31, Municipal Service Centres in Ridgetown, Tilbury and Dresden are closing once again due to high levels of staff under COVID-19 protocol.

The three centres will close Monday, Jan. 31, for a minimum period of two weeks. The centres were closed on Jan. 12 but re-opened for one day on Jan. 27.

Last week, the municipality reported 110 municipal staff were off work or working from home because of the virus, down from 170 two weeks ago.

Click here for FREE Tilbury Times Subscription

Cathy Hoffman, Chatham-Kent’s General Manager of Human Resources and Organizational Development and Chief Human Resources Officer, said the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant means staff availability can change rapidly.

“Our first responsibility is to maximize the safety of our employees and the community,” she said. “We are reassessing our capabilities on a daily basis, and we have to be ready to react to the realities of the situation.”

Hoffman said whenever possible, citizens are encouraged to utilize municipal digital service offerings, which include:

Dog Tag Licence Renewals can be paid via the Pet and Wildlife Rescue (PAWR) website pawr.org/product-category/dog-tags/ and are due by Mar. 31

Property Tax Interim Payments can be made at www.chatham-kent.ca/paypropertytaxes and are due by Mar. 1

General information and service request inquiries – www.ck311.ca

Click here for FREE Tilbury Times Subscription