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The Bourbon County Courthouse will remain closed to the public at least until April 5.

The decision was made during a special Bourbon County Commission meeting held via teleconference Monday morning.

The courthouse was closed last week due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Currently there is no active COVID-19 confirmation in the courthouse, Bourbon County Counselor Justin Meeks said.

Following a 30-minute executive session with Meeks, Emergency Manager William Wallis and Information Technology Coordinator Shane Walker, commissioners voted on how to pay employees.

Hourly employees who are sent home will continue to receive their regular hourly pay. Hourly employees who continue to work – sheriff’s office, corrections and landfill – will be paid double time. Employees will not use sick or vacation time.

“There should be absolutely no overtime during this pandemic,” Commission Chairman Lynne Oharah said. “We need to make sure we control that as much as we can. We just cannot afford to spend our reserves.”

Fischer said if an employee has to be quarantined, that could create an overtime situation.

“It could, but we need to face that when it arises,” Oharah said, adding no staff is mandatorily quarantined at this time.

Some salaried employees, such as Wallis, Walker and Meeks, continue to work.

Oharah read an email from the Kansas Association of Counties clarifying government employees’, officials’ and volunteers’ immunity from liability when working pursuant to declared emergencies, which includes pandemics. Immunity does not apply to “willful misconduct, gross negligence or bad faith relating to precautionary measures.

To avoid willful misconduct, gross negligence or bad faith, those engaging in these activities should be free of symptoms, including fever and engage in all precautionary measures – covering coughs, sneezes, disinfecting, hand washing, personal protection equipment, social distancing, etc.”

Oharah said Wallis distributed the email to all department heads and city leaders on March 19.

On Monday, Wallis was given authority to discuss the email with department heads and Walker was given the authority to discuss facility constraints and accommodations with department heads.