By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
While the coronavirus pandemic brought much of the activity across the world to a halt, the show must go on for people paying taxes, getting married and conducting other municipal matters.
The town of Cicero has made several modifications to its facilities to accommodate Onondaga County and New York State’s pandemic restrictions, but business is still booming at town hall.
“We’ve never stopped since day one,” said Town Clerk Tracy Cosilmon.
When the governor mandated a reduction in workforce for municipalities and businesses in March, Cosilmon’s office picked up the slack by answering calls for other departments on top of their regular clerking duties, which include issuing marriage licenses, hunting and fishing permits, and managing town records.
The town clerk’s office is pulling in numbers comparable to 2019, despite the pandemic. Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 7, 2020, Cicero has issued 104 marriage licenses, compared to 99 for the same time period in 2019. More than 550 people have applied for hunting and fishing licenses since August 2020, generating more than $17,000 in revenue for New York State.
“Some of the folks have gone above and beyond to be flexible, and Tracy is one of them,” Town Supervisor Bill Meyer said. “This idea that we’re not open is totally not true.”
Meyer said Cicero Town Hall is open, but things do look different. Neon tape and circular decals with footprints divide the narrow corridors of the town building into six-foot chunks to keep people at a safe distance from one another. Plexiglass shields have been erected in offices throughout the building.
“The basic issue we’re dealing with is it’s a 1957 building that’s been added onto three times,” Meyer said of the challenges of social distancing.
“We’re not like other towns — we don’t have a big Taj Mahal,” Cosilmon said.
Outside town hall, numerous fluorescent yellow signs direct visitors to wear masks, wait their turn and keep six feet apart. Picnic tables are available for residents to sit and fill out paperwork without having to congregate indoors.
Inside, visitors fill out the now-familiar questionnaire about symptoms and contact tracing, and town employees aim infrared thermometers at people’s foreheads. On court nights, bailiffs guide attorneys and clients through the building one at a time, entering one door and exiting from another.
“We’re staying open but we’re trying to control [access],” Meyer said. “We’re trying to be responsive. …We’re not trying to stack them up in the hall.”
For those paying their school taxes this fall, the tax office has a window and doorbell to allow residents to conduct business without having to set foot in the building.
Despite the plexiglass and masks, Cosilmon said it’s the human touch that residents crave from interactions at town hall, especially as the pandemic has left many people feeling isolated.
“You can smile six feet away, and that’s what people need. I think that’s why people come here,” Cosilmon said.
Cicero Town Hall is located at 8236 Brewerton Road. Call 315-752-1180 to make an appointment with the appropriate town department if you need to conduct business at town hall.
