Council Message: Census & COVID-19

Councilman Claude WellsBy Councilman Claude Wells

As a resident of Riverton City you should have received the 2020 U.S. Census reminder in mid-March in the mail. The Census count is critical for Riverton’s future and it’s important to remember that you matter, your children matter, and our community matters…so make sure you get counted!

Census data is used for planning and accurate allocation of funds for roads and infrastructure, education funding, school planning and political representation. It only takes about 10 minutes, but accuracy is important.

The recent COVID-19 virus outbreak is a reminder to us how important it is to be prepared but stay calm understanding that we have a grocery supply chain in place to allow us to get are basic everyday needs and a little more if we have to stay self-quarantined for a few weeks. Fear based buying for things we don’t need causes panic for everyone. Empty shelves leave uncertainty and especially those that don’t prepare at all. It’s a domino effect that left shortages for more critical items that are not needed for the COVID-19 Virus.

This resulted in shortages for things like distilled water needed for CPAP and other medical devices and products needed to protect medical providers and disinfectant and sanitation products we could all use to help stay safe.

Hopefully we can all take away some things we learned from this time period to better prepare us for the next challenge that is not a natural disaster. We will all get through this together if we take a deep breath, work together and keep calm.

Our city leaders and public officials are all required to take FEMA classes through Homeland Security. Because of this training the leaders have a good understanding of certain protocols of both federal, state, and local agencies when declaring national emergencies. This helps release needed funding to help fight the COVID-19 outbreak and get help for each state. We are in good hands!

My experience serving on the City Council has taught me a lot. For everything you think you know you need to learn even more to get different perspectives, learn facts based on research to be able to make the best possible decisions as a member of the council. You have to put in the work to stay on top of the issues and challenges of the city. It really is a full-time position to continuously learn as much as you can. I am honored to serve with such great city leaders, employees and other state and county representatives!

Published April 1, 2020

 

Subscribe to
Email Notifications
Sign Up for
Text Message Alerts
Download the
Riverton Connect App