Coronavirus in rural America (Part CLXXIV): New York Times takes up Omicron's impact on small-town government

Jill Cowan reports today on how widespread illness from the Omicron variant is affecting small municipal governments' ability to provide services.  Her story references what is happening in Marvell, Arkansas,  population 1,186, in the Mississippi Delta area and Verden, Oklahoma, population 530, in west central part of that state.   This quote sums up what is happening:  

It’s a familiar story in small towns across the country, where the spike in infections from the Omicron variant hit local governments with particular force. The virus has ripped through big cities like Los Angeles and New York, sidelining thousands of police officers and transit operators. In many, leaders have rushed to reassure residents that firefighters and paramedics will show up when they call amid record absences.

But in small communities, the people responsible for keeping crucial public services up and running say the strain is acute: With bare-bones workforces already stretched thin, there is no margin for error when multiple workers have to call in sick.

Brooks Rainwater, director of the National League of Cities Center for City Solutions, provided this context:  

Longer term, we’ve seen really strong economic challenges in rural America as the urban-rural divide has expanded.

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Rural governments are small by design.

The story features Marvell's police chief, Bennie Daniels, Sr., who remarks, "I do everything my guys do, of course."  Daniels has been working 18-20 hour days.  He recently gave his officers a raise, from $13/hour to $15/hour.  

Lee Guest wears many hats in Marvell.  He is both mayor and assistant fire chief.  His day job is as a rural mail carrier.  He said he had to get off Facebook for a while because of backlash after he encouraged residents to get vaccinated.  

“I’m getting chewed out by people I grew up with,” said Mr. Guest, a lifelong resident who describes his ascent to the city’s top job almost like he was drafted. “There are times where I just want to be a mailman.”