*This article was edited since publication to correct the spelling of Mayor Olson’s name from Olsen.
At their first Regular Council Meeting, the newly sworn-in City Council came up against their first controversial issue: a Resolution to Implement OSHA’s Covid-19 Vaccination Mandate that the Biden Administration implemented in early November, 2021.
When the Vaccination Resolution was brought before the Council the jovial mood that had characterized the earlier moments of the meeting bled to a somber and serious mood.
Mayor Olson explained to the Council that this Resolution had to be discussed due to the size of Santaquin.
Santaquin boasts a city staff of over 200 people and OSHA’s mandate requires ANY employer with more than 100 employees to require their employees to be fully vaccinated, or else the executive agency will impose enormous fines.
The city administration explained to the council two vital points: First, that either way, the choice had budgetary consequences. If the Council enforces the policy, then some staff may leave and seek employment elsewhere. (An informal poll showed that 64% of staff self-reported being fully vaccinated.) If the Council rejects the proposition, then the City could face fines of over $1 million.
Second, after legal proceedings with the Appellate Courts, the Supreme Court of the United States has taken an interest in this case, and could decide that the Biden Administration doesn’t have the authority to mandate vaccinations.
An interesting note, the Council was told that when the city staff reached out to the other 256 cities in the state regarding how they are approaching this situation, only 14 responded—4 reported having too few employees for it to be an issue; 9 reported that they had similar policies ready, but haven’t scheduled them for votes; and only a single other city had a resolution scheduled for vote.
The Council decided to table the resolution for the time being until the legal battle between the federal government and the states comes to a clear conclusion.
Either way the courts go, the Mayor and other council members voiced their objection over the federal government’s mandate and the Mayor ended the conversation by avowing his belief in the constitution.