Hunter
07/21/20
Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague said he will be issuing an order requiring face coverings in public to mitigate the spread of coronavirus in the city.
Teague’s intentions were revealed during a meeting of Joint Entities, which included representatives from local governmental bodies in Johnson County.
Public health officials discussed a resolution which has been presented to local governments, encouraging everyone to wear face coverings in public. It had the support of all participants in the meeting, but Teague said it was important to do more, so he said that at 12:30 today, he’s going to issue an order.
Teague says he’s fully aware of the rulings of Governor Kim Reynolds and the state Attorney General, stating that cities, counties and other municipalities don’t have the power to issue a mandate that goes further than state recommendations. However, the mayor says he believes the home rule provision of state code in the Iowa Constitution gives him the authority to issue the mandate due to the pandemic being a health crisis.
Teague cited the recent surge in cases and his concern that testing isn’t accurately measuring the extent of virus activity in the county. He also pointed out that thousands of students are due back in town next month to begin classes at the University of Iowa.
Earlier this month, Muscatine Mayor Diana Broderson issued a mask mandate, only to be told by the governor that she exceeded her authority, making her proclamation invalid. Days later, the City Council there voted to prohibit any city funds or city staff time used to enforce the proclamation. Broderson says she’s not revoking her mandate.