A number of Hall County Government facilities will remain closed to the public through April 13 in light of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s shelter in place order that remains in effect until that time. Several facilities, including the Hall County Government Center, originally closed to the public beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, March 20 in an effort to protect the health and wellness of the community as it continues to navigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The first priority of the Hall County Board of Commissioners remains the safety of our employees, visitors and citizens," Hall County Administrator Jock Connell said. "We are continuing to follow best practices as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and the White House and are updating our operations accordingly."
In addition to the government center, Hall County community centers, libraries, park pavilions, playgrounds, and park restrooms remain closed until April 13 amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The Hall County Animal Shelter extended its closure to the public as well; however, staff will continue to care for the animals there on a daily basis. Parks and library programming have been canceled until further notice, and the Hall County Courthouse and Courthouse Annex will both be open only for essential matters through April. The Hall County Correctional Institute has also scaled back inmate work details countywide in the best interest of the public and its prisoners. The Hall County Landfill, Recycling Center and compactor sites remain open.
A limited number of employees will continue to report to these facilities each day in order to provide basic and essential functions of government to the public; however, those employees will be required to practice social distancing to minimize any risk to their health. Increased sanitation efforts continue countywide to ensure employees reporting for these essential functions are working in the most sterile environment possible.
"Despite these extended closures, there is still a multitude of options for citizens to conduct County business online," said Connell.
For example, online motor vehicle services, including vehicle registration renewals, the payment of insurance fines, etc. are available via the "Online Payments" button on Hall County’s website, www.hallcounty.org. That’s also where citizens can pay their property tax, renew their business license, and more.
The County’s website can also be used to file property tax exemptions or print an absentee ballot application, just to name a few.
The homepage of the website includes a "Departments" heading where citizens can find links to individual County departments’ contact information in order to contact a department specifically and determine whether or not their Hall County business can be conducted without an in-person visit.
Finally, a number of proactive steps Hall County has taken to date in regards to the coronavirus epidemic, along with a number of other helpful resources on this issue, can be found at ready.hallcounty.org.
"I would like to personally thank all Hall County citizens for their cooperation and patience as we navigate this uncharted territory together, as a Hall County community," said Connell.