At the emergency Town Council Meeting on Monday, March 16th the Bar Harbor Town Council unanimously passed an Emergency Pandemic Ordinance unanimously with Councilor Coston absent(excused)

To read the full Ordinance click HERE. Key takeaways

  • Close public access to the Municipal Building offices, Highway Garage and grounds, Wastewater Plant, Police Station, Fire Station and the Harbormaster’s office until March 30, 2020.
  • Cancel all non-emergency municipal meetings until March 30, 2020
  • Set up an expense account for pandemic response costs and utilize the Council Contingency fund for that purpose.
  • Suspend all deadlines for the processing or consideration of applications, permits of any type and budget review etc. as required under the Town Charter Section -31
  • Suspend cruise ship visitations thru at least April 30, 2020

Services provided by town departments until March 30, 2020 shall be as follows:
Planning & Codes- (288-3329)- Staff will continue with permitting and inspection. The Planning Board and Design Review Board meetings will be canceled. The Administrative Assistant will come in daily to check messages, mail, enter permits, etc. Inspections will be done on a case-by-case basis.  Some staff will work from home and conduct meetings via Zoom.
Finance- A rotating town staff will process payments through a drop box set up in the main lobby and take calls @ 288-5096, residents are encouraged to utilize the online services available through the Town of Bar Harbor website:  www.barharbormaine.gov:
Through the Official Payments portal link:   Pay Town of Bar Harbor bills (taxes, water, sewer, parking tickets, ambulance charges)
Through the Maine.gov portal link:  Re-register motor vehicles, boats / ATV’s, trailers, get a duplicate vehicle registration

Through the Bar Harbor maine.gov website: Inspect property tax records, tax maps, assessment information, current taxes owed
Through the IPS portal or Citation link: Re-register or newly register all 2020 parking permits or pay citations

Fire –(288-5554)- Personnel are split between the Fire Station and Town Hill substation 24/7.  Fire and vacation rental inspections are suspended, burn permits can be obtained on-line.
Police- (288-3391) The Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Police Departments will maintain 24/7 operations for both communities.  We have prepared continuing operations guidelines with reliance on mutual aid agreements if necessary.  We are developing protocols to which are intended to allow us to operate 24/7 dispatching from one dispatch center for both towns if staffing levels dictate it as a necessity.   We will always respond to emergencies and have asked our Police Officers to utilize discretion when handling non-urgent matters by talking with people on the phone rather than meeting them in person when appropriate.   The lobby will remain open to the public.

Public Works- 288-1026- The Transfer Station will be open but staff will practice social distancing and not assist customers with disposal.  Highway will continue operations and practice social distancing.  Wastewater and Water Departments will respond to emergency service calls.  Water bill payments may be dropped in mailbox located outside the gate. Call ahead at 288-4028 for water meter assistance

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