In navigating a series of momentous and sometimes painful decisions to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo have extolled the importance of social distancing and avoiding unnecessary contact with others.

They have closed the popular Houston Rodeo, halted dine-in orders at restaurants and bars, and issued an order - now extended through April 30 — that has put thousands out of work by directing residents to stay home except for necessary errands or to work “essential” jobs.

For nearly two weeks after beginning these unprecedented measures aimed at containing the virus, however, the mayor continued to gather dozens of senior officials for in-person meetings, and the city did not implement policies to help employees work from home. Turner said he now meets with staff via video conference.

Still, city council meetings and news conferences continue to take place in person — albeit with protocols to promote social distancing — and Turner’s Twitter account published photos of the mayor touring grocery stores last Sunday and chatting within arm’s length of employees.

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The pandemic has revealed tension between politicians’ rhetoric and the practical reality that vital city and county functions must persist even during a national health crisis. And it has posed a difficult question to governments and the many “essential” businesses still operating: How do you balance the safety of workers and the public they serve with those vital services?

Harris County’s response has been uneven, in part because independently elected officials oversee many parts of the government. Steve Radack in Precinct 3 is the only commissioner who has not directed any employees to work remotely, according to human resources records, and has kept open community and senior centers. He said workers will follow social distancing rules, but must continue to provide services residents have paid for.

Commissioners Court as a whole has acted more decisively than the city to make accommodations for its employees. On March 10, the court adopted a telecommuting plan. Within two weeks, the county allowed employees to take more vacation days than they had earned if they were uncomfortable coming to work and permitted those unable to perform their jobs to continue collecting their salaries by volunteering at an approved charity.

Still, just 28 percent of county employees were working remotely by the end of last week, according to the county budget office. That figure rises to 44 percent when the sheriff and constables are excluded. And while some city departments quickly began shifting workers to telecommuting even before the city had a policy in place to govern it, workers for both governments still are reporting to desk jobs.

Some city staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid retribution, said a lack of urgency among their departments’ leaders was putting employees needlessly at risk, and said guidance from the mayor’s office has been disjointed at best.

‘Not in a position’

The issue was highlighted Monday when the city confirmed a Houston Public Library employee had tested positive for the virus last week. The library system closed its branches March 16, but the COVID-positive worker — and all of his or her colleagues — still were expected to report to their posts for more than a week, at which point a spokeswoman said the department began letting “eligible” employees telecommute.

“I don't know if the city is totally prepared to have a big workforce work from home,” said Roy Sanchez, treasurer of the Houston municipal employees’ union.

Thousands of government employees cannot work remotely, of course, as an internet connection cannot treat sewage, pick up trash, respond to residents’ 911 calls or keep watch on jail inmates.

The mayor defended his overall approach to the crisis, insisting that “the facts on the ground, the science, the advice of the medical community” have guided his decision-making.

“We're not in a position to tell thousands of employees that, because you are fearful of this virus and you can't work from home, that you can go home and the city can continue to pay you while you're home,” Turner said in an interview.

City and county leaders also have struggled to balance public health with the economic damage inflicted by social distancing. While Hidalgo pushed for more restrictions on public life — first through curtailing bars and restaurants and then the “stay at home” order — Turner was slower to embrace those measures, three sources familiar with the negotiations said.

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Hidalgo began polling doctors and health experts about a stay-at-home policy the week of March 16 and directed her staff to formally draft the order March 20, the same day Turner assured Houstonians the city would not go on “lockdown.”

The mayor said he was spurred to back the order by a March 23 memo from TMC hospital leaders, in which they unanimously backed stricter measures, and a new recommendation that same day from David Persse, the city’s top doctor, “to take additional steps.”

Hidalgo issued the order the next day.

The success of the local response to the coronavirus, former Houston mayor Bill White said, depends on Hidalgo and Turner’s teams working with each other and with the medical and nonprofit sectors.

“It is important they have a coordinated response,” White said. “Similarly, by sharing experiences with issues, such as workforce and designation of emergency services, then the two governments can go through a continual process of learning from each other.”

‘Get it done’

The pandemic’s new reality has complicated even the most mundane of municipal functions.

Such was the case when a 10-man sewer repair crew piled out of two pickups and, without masks or gloves, knocked on John Pluecker’s door in the East End last week. The workers’ lack of health precautions alarmed Pluecker and several neighbors — one of whom has a weakened immune system — so they chained their gates shut to block the crews from reaching a sewer line along their back fences.

“Those are spaces where our kids play, where I’m growing vegetables to try to make it through this crisis, and where it’s really important for us to keep up our spirits and mental health,” Pluecker said. “We’re all just trying to get through this. And then the city comes knocking like it’s a normal day.”

After the city threatened to send police officers to ensure the workers’ entry, Pluecker said, residents let the crews access the pipe through nearby yards of vacant homes or properties that lacked fences.

Houston Public Works spokeswoman Erin Jones said the repair was a crucial job to replace a temporary pipe installed three weeks ago to bypass a blocked sewer line in the area, and said Turner had a simple directive when told the residents had balked: “Get it done.”

Throughout the early stages of the coronavirus crisis, the mayor stressed that it would remain business as usual at City Hall. Hours after ordering the shutdown of the rodeo, Turner tweeted that city employees were “expected at work tomorrow and next week. We have work to do.”

Soon after, following a rash of school cancellations and warnings that Houston doctors were short on equipment, the mayor instructed department directors to decide which employees could work from home.

Work from home a ‘privilege’

Turner has made numerous additional moves to limit the spread of the virus, halting municipal court proceedings until May 1, closing all public library branches through the end of April and moving most permitting services online. He also has canceled or postponed city-permitted events and instructed employees to practice social distancing and wash their hands frequently when they come to work.

Before the court closures last Wednesday following the stay-at-home order, however, municipal court judge trials, parking ticket hearings and other proceedings remained scheduled, and court employees were continuing to report to work, a department spokesman said.

Even as the crisis escalated, the mayor required city employees to continue coming to work if they could not do so remotely.

“Employees, for example, if you just feel uncomfortable, and they don’t want to work, they certainly can exercise their vacation time or their accrued sick leave time,” Turner said at a news conference last Wednesday.

Sanchez, the municipal union official, said that presents “a big issue” for recently hired workers who have not accrued any sick or vacation time.

In a March 20 email to city employees, Marvalette Hunter, Turner’s chief of staff, acknowledged the mayor’s initial directive was “being misunderstood.” She wrote that telecommuting “is not a right, but a privilege and requires the approval of your department director,” and attached a draft of the city’s new telecommuting policy. Employees may not appeal if they are denied the opportunity to work from home.

For some employees, there is little ambiguity. Firefighters and police officers continue to respond to calls for safety and medical issues unrelated to the virus, without knowing if they are encountering infected residents. And the Solid Waste Management Department has continued to collect trash and recycling as usual; Director Harry Hayes said none of his staff are working remotely.

Harris County lacks a fire or solid waste department, and the vast majority of the 7,500 employees who work in law enforcement are unable to telecommute. Twelve employees of the sheriff’s office, which runs the county jail, have contracted the coronavirus.

Hidalgo on Wednesday ordered the release of hundreds of inmates charged with nonviolent crimes in hopes of preventing an outbreak at the jail, where one inmate tested positive for the virus and dozens have shown symptoms.

Bruce High, who manages the county’s IT services and vehicle fleet, said he has helped fellow department heads shift their workforces online, and has ordered 100 more laptops to speed that process.

“The calls I get are, ‘I’ve got to get my people home, how can you help me?’” High said. “(I say) ‘OK, how many laptops do you need?’”

Elsewhere in the county, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia has converted community centers to food distribution sites. Radack, in Precinct 3, has left open his two senior centers, though all programming is canceled. Katie Keene, a program coordinator at the Fonteno Senior Education Center, said she spends much of her time doing phone check-ins with a roster of elderly residents who rely on the programs for social interaction.

“It’s hard, because we’ve even called seniors we know are absolutely alone; they have no surviving family, no friends,” Keene said. “We call them and make sure they’re OK.”

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