LYNN — Dozens of residents took advantage of the first day of outdoor services offered at City Hall on Wednesday morning, according to City Clerk Janet Rowe.
The outdoor services are the next step in Mayor Thomas M. McGee’s phased plan to reopen City Hall.
From 9 a.m. to noon, citizens made their way to the Johnson Street entrance of the building to pay their property taxes and solid waste fees, pick up their birth and marriage certificates, and get sworn in as public notaries.
City Hall began to offer limited outdoor services to residents on Wednesday, which will continue each Wednesday and Friday during the same timeframe through at least July 1.
But Rowe said she hopes McGee will authorize a plan to extend the outdoor city services through the end of the summer, even as City Hall is tentatively scheduled to fully reopen to the public on July 7.
“For the first day, it actually was (busy),” said Rowe, who estimated there were at least three dozen residents there throughout the day. “It’s working out great. I’m hoping to continue it because I think the more people we can keep out of the building the better.”
Residents are now able to walk up and pay their real estate, excise and personal property tax bills with the collector’s office on those two days. But citizens will have to make an appointment with the City Clerk’s office for other services including licenses, birth and marriage certificates, notary public services and dropping off election papers.
“For us, we have to do the appointment because they’ll call us and we have to produce (the) birth and death certificate,” said Rowe. “It’s quick, we just go down, hand it to them and they’re gone.”
Some couples have been waiting to get married at City Hall, Rowe said, explaining that she expects those appointments will start to pick up as more people realize the outdoor services are available. Couples can complete the marriage application online, but they physically have to be sworn in at City Hall, she said.
Several appointments on Wednesday consisted of swearing in public notaries, which, along with getting documents notarized, has to be done in person, Rowe said.
Throughout the COVID-19 shutdown, residents have been conducting city business by phone or email, and many have been taking advantage of dropping off their permit applications in the large mailbox located at the Johnson Street entrance of City Hall, Rowe said.
When City Hall reopens to the public, Rowe anticipates in-person services may be slow, as there will be a limited number of people who can enter offices and picking up documents can be a lengthy process.
That’s why she’s encouraging people to call ahead and thinks having continued outdoor service will be helpful moving forward.
“If the mayor approves it, we can continue to use the tent two days a week at least for the summer months,” said Rowe. “If it does get busier, we may move to three days.”
Offering limited public access to in-person city services is the next step in the mayor’s phased approach to reopening City Hall. Provided that the state has “successfully entered” into phase three of Gov. Charlie Baker’s reopening plan, the building will fully reopen the public on July 7.
“As we continue the phased reopening of City Hall, it is important that we keep the safety of both our employees and our residents in mind, taking necessary precautionary measures to mitigate any additional surge of COVID-19,” said McGee in a statement. “We want to make sure we provide access to essential services during these unprecedented times.”
As part of the first two phases, all department heads returned to the building on a full-time basis on June 1 and all other employees started returning to work the following Monday, June 8.
Aside from department heads, employees are working on a staggered schedule, in terms of alternating between a week on-site and working the following week remotely.
People can schedule an outdoor appointment with the City Clerk’s office by calling (781) 586-6726 or email at [email protected]. Checks or money orders are the preferred method of payment for the services offered by the collector and city clerk, but cash payments will be accepted if the exact amount is provided.
If residents are unable to make their payments online or through the outdoor express services, they may mail them or drop them off in the blue City Hall lock box at the Johnson Street entrance of City Hall.
