Brattleboro cannot impose an indoor masking mandate, Gov. Phil Scott’s office said. Only the governor can do that.
Brattleboro Selectboard members, acting as town health commissioners, voted Aug. 17 to adopt an indoor masking mandate in the town as Covid-19 cases were rising in Windham County.
Town Manager Peter Elwell asked state Health Commissioner Mark Levine to approve the mandate.
On Tuesday, Scott’s office contacted Elwell, recommending that the selectboard consider withdrawing its request to Levine and that town officials review the laws on what municipalities are allowed to do.
In a follow-up email, the governor’s office said the town needed Scott’s approval for policies involving Covid-19 response or recovery, based on a June 21 executive order.
“You have asked the commissioner of health to approve Brattleboro’s proposal to exercise an extraordinary regulatory power while there is no state of emergency. Mandatory masking has only been exercised or permitted by the governor during a declared state of emergency,” Scott’s office said in the email.
The email also said Scott would not approve Brattleboro’s request and cited low test-positivity rates, high levels of vaccination and zero Covid-19 patients admitted to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and the Brattleboro Retreat at that time.
“Though variants have required continued monitoring and management, at this time the data does not justify a state of emergency,” the email said.
“We are following the data closely and, should the data demonstrate it is warranted, we would consider additional mitigation recommendations with the reimposition of a statewide state of emergency,” the governor’s office told the town.
Jessica Gelter, a selectboard member, said that, when she and her colleagues voted in favor of a mask mandate, they thought Levine could accurately assess whether it was necessary.
“If we were going overboard, we trusted that the health commissioner, with his expertise, would be able to say, ‘It’s OK, you don’t need to do that yet. You’re fine,’” she said.
But when Scott’s office responded instead, Gelter said it felt less comforting than if it had come from the commissioner of health.
“I feel like he’s done such a great job throughout this,” Gelter said, referring to Scott, “But it’s because of the support of the health team that he’s got on board working with him, so I just would much have preferred the ‘no’ coming from Commissioner Levine.”
Elwell replied to Scott’s office, clarifying that Brattleboro was already requiring face coverings in town government facilities and vehicles, and he cited CDC masking guidelines for areas of high community transmission, a category into which Windham County falls.
Elwell also clarified that he, as town manager, could not rescind a request made by the selectboard and asked that the matter be directed back to the health commissioner.
After the selectboard voted to reinstate an indoor mask mandate, Gelter said she received many messages of thanks, especially from parents of unvaccinated children.
For now, beyond the recommendations for face coverings and vaccinations they have already made, Gelter said selectboard members are trying to be good role models for the community when it comes to masking.
“You know, there’s not a lot that we can do with our local authority,” she said. “But continuing to speak out, following up with the governor’s office, following up with the health commissioner’s office, those are all things that we’re doing together with the town manager to make sure that this decision is being made and handled correctly.”
