Elgin Council discussing ideas on a vaccine mandate

By Paul Hall on Friday, September 10th, 2021 in Northeastern Oregon News Northeastern Oregon Top Stories

ELGIN – The City of Elgin held an emergency council meeting Wednesday night, discussing ideas on the vaccine mandate and which direction to take. Currently emergency services are required to have a vaccination. Brock Eckstein, City Administrator of Elgin said the purpose of the meeting is to decide whether or not to have a mandate for the City of Elgin. Eckstein said there are several city staff members that are refusing the vaccination and if the mandate stands, the City of Elgin will lose those city employees.

Eckstein explained there are a couple of different routes, one to follow Union County’s Resolution which is not in support of the vaccine mandate, or require vaccinations. Eckstein said, if the city forces the mandate the city will lose city staff and if the city does not follow the mandate, OSHA fines $500 a day per occurrence. A decision to follow Union County’s Resolution was agree upon and a draft will be sent to the City Council meeting on Tuesday for a vote. Also, Eckstein said a draft will be posted on the City of Elgin’s Facebook page for the public to review.