BILLINGS — Billings city services and municipal court hearings will still be available to the public while crews give a deep clean to City Hall after three city employees tested positive for COVID-19, said Gavin Woltjer, acting public information officer for the city on Tuesday.
The city has the infrastructure to operate primarily over the phone since the first closure earlier in the year. All phone numbers listed on the city's web site should ring through to the appropriate person who may be working at home, Woltjer said.
The city announced Monday that two custodians and an IT worker tested positive for the virus on July 29.
City hall closed Monday at 5 p.m. for deep cleaning and will reopen with limited hours on Thursday from 7 a.m. to noon. The building will open again on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the same time until Aug. 17, when normal business hours are scheduled to resume.
The Billings Public Library, which is located in a different building, also closed Monday for deep cleaning. Curbside services will continue at the library Monday through Friday and the facility will reopen fully on Aug. 17 at 10 a.m.
Woltjer estimated the total amount of city employees in City Hall on a given day to be around 140. The Billings Police Department operates out of City Hall and accounts for about 100 people in the building with the other 40 working for other city departments, Woltjer said.
Some city employees were still working from home after Montana Gov. Steve Bullock shifted the state into phase two of the reopening plan on June 1.
Municipal court is housed in city hall and will still be holding trials during limited hours during the closure. Court officials will only be allowing those involved in a case to be present for a hearing and are encouraging the use of masks. Although the court will not provide masks to those without them.
To learn more about court times and regulations, visit the city's website by clicking here.