Please find the Support emergency Operations Plan under the Administrative Policies which has been updated.  If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact Fire Chief Ian Davis at 906-225-8940 or idavis@marquettemi.gov.

Those City employees enrolled in the City’s group health plan should be aware the unlimited medical coverage on your auto insurance is no longer necessary. No-fault auto insurance reform legislation was approved in 2019 to take effect with policies issued or renewed after July 1, 2020. In the past, employees have had to call BCBSM to request the letter needed for their auto insurance provider to prove adequate health coverage is in place to forego this option on their auto insurance. The letter is now able to be obtained from the BCBSM website where you can login with your account, navigate to the ID Cards & Proof of Coverage button, scroll down to the Proof of Coverage section and download the PDF.

The City of Marquette will be implementing a Work Share program as a first line counter to anticipated budget shortfalls. Michigan’s Work Share program allows employers to keep employees working with reduced hours, while employees collect partial unemployment benefits to make up a portion of the lost wages. Employees participating in Work Share due to
COVID-19 are also eligible to receive the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation of $300 per week in addition to their Work Share weekly Michigan unemployment benefit. The City will be filing for benefits for each affected employee and will handle recertifying benefits on a weekly basis.

Excluding emergency responders (Police and Fire), each department will be furloughing qualifying full-time employees one day a week until March 13 and is planned to start next week (January 18). The furlough day can be any day of the week, but departments will be required to remain available to the public for the normal work week. Furlough schedules will be at the
discretion of the Department Head. This action will potentially save the City an estimated $200,000 through the middle of March and will be a tremendous help in overcoming the estimated budget shortfalls.

City of Marquette staff able to work remotely from home will continue to do so at status quo for the immediate future. The MiOSHA emergency rules that required this have not changed since they were released in October. When administrative staff is expected to return to the office, they will be given adequate formal notice prior.

For those employees that participated in the State of Michigan Work Share program over the summer, please remember to wait for your 1099-G from the State to report unemployment wages prior to filing your income tax return for 2020. By default, no taxes are withheld on unemployment paid through Work Share.