CORRECTION TO THE CORRECTION: COVID-19 Update: How We Can Help, plus some more info

It turns out Mayor Satya reads this blog. 

She just texted me to let me know that Curbside Voting is now for everyone. That means you, if you're reading this, and you haven't voted, can drive downtown (or walk or bike) to MLK Blvd outside the City-County Bldg and the Madison Municipal Bldg, and vote without leaving your car.  You can even register to vote right there on the spot!  

I encourage you to take advantage of this very safe means of exercising your civic duty. 

Obviously, things are changing rapidly. I'll do my level best to keep you up-to-date.  Meanwhile, be very careful out there.  This is not a joke.

Correction...Curbside voting is not for everybody. 

The City Clerk's Office is offering this option only to those voters who are at high-risk for the virus COVID-19. High risk are those over 60 or those with underlying health conditions. For those not at high risk, in-person absentee voting is still available in the Clerk's Office, City-County Building, Room 103, and in the Madison Municipal Building, Room 153. (Hint: MMB tends to be less crowded.)

Voters are also able to request absentee ballots to be sent to them through the mail at myvote.wi.gov . The deadline to request an absentee ballot to be sent to you is Thursday, April 2nd. 

Thanks to Wendy Fearnside in Vilas for catching my mistake.  

With love,

Tag

Hi Everybody,

I'm sharing again the link I posted last week, the COVID-19 Mutual Aid Resources and Opportunities to Help, sent out by the kind folks at DMNA. This list includes ways we can help each other, and ways in which any of you can ask for help if you need it.  

In addition, there are a couple of Facebook pages that you may already know about, Dane County Neighbors Helping Neighbors and COVID-19 Mutual Aid Madison.  

If you'd like to help out financially, please consider making a donation to a local food pantry. Read this article to find out who's providing free food to those who need it and that will give you ideas about whom you might want to support.

There's an interesting article in today's NYT about how we need to be extremely careful not to spread the virus when we are helping our neighbors.  The shelter-in-place order imposed by the governor allows us to purchase essentials for others, not just ourselves, but we dare not do so except with the utmost of caution.  In other words, let's not be cavalier in our eagerness to help out.

While some restaurants have maintained carry-out and delivery options, servers and bartenders have been laid off by the hundreds.  The Madison Tip Jar Randomizer allows you to help out these laid off workers in their hour of need.

The concern remains that our hospitals could be overwhelmed, with our medical workers and first responders insufficiently protected against infection due to a lack of Protective Personal Equipment or PPE. 

Dane County Exec Joe Parisi put out this call:

We are reaching out to see if you or your company have any masks, face shields, paper gowns, and/or cloth gowns that could be procured by Dane County Emergency Management for use by our healthcare providers and first responders. If you are able to help, please contact us with the following information via 608-266-5374 or dcems@countyofdane.com. 

The libraries remain closed. Please don't return your checked-out items; read them twice if you must, but hold off on returning them until the libraries open as the book drops are also closed. From Library Director Greg Mickells:

Due dates of checked out materials will be extended, and holds will be retained at libraries until libraries reopen. The library's databases, online magazine and newspapers and downloadable audiobooks and eBooks are also accessible 24/7 with a library card.

If you're itching for something to do, complete the online Census Survey. You should have received in the mail instructions for how to do so. Don't delay, please. This is critically important. 

Also, you can vote! Curbside voting is now available for all voters and includes voter registration. You can avoid the Election Day crowds on April 7 through curbside early voting, offered in front of the City County Building on Martin Luther King, Jr Blvd. Election officials will assist you there. Curbside early voting will be available there 8:00 am – 6:00 pm Monday-Friday through April 3rd.

Property taxes are still due on March 31. This from the Finance Dept:

The payment process for property taxes, including penalties for late payments, is established in State Law. Local taxing jurisdictions, including the City of Madison, cannot change payment dates or waive penalties for late payments without action by the State. The City has been in contact with the State urging action to provide this short-term relief to affected property taxpayers in response to this public health and economic emergency. Currently, there is no change in property tax due dates. We are aware of conversations surrounding this topic at the City, State, and Federal levels. If a change is made, Finance will update the website and issue a press release.

I'm hopeful this will change. It's unreasonable in my mind to expect our residents who have lost jobs and are fearful for the future to have to meet this deadline. 

It is a fearful time, which is why we need to come together and support each other. If you are afraid, don't hold it in. Be vulnerable and share your burden. We are here for you. 

If you have questions or suggestions, please let me know. It's surreal, I know, and at times overwhelming.

If you are on the front lines as a medical worker or first responder, or if you're employed in an essential service like a bus driver or grocery store clerk, we appreciate you so much! 

Be safe. Be well. Be kind.

Tag