The Ramsey City Council last week introduced an ordinance that would make it illegal for the northwest metro city to force employees or contractors doing business with the city to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Ramsey introduces resolution opposing governmental COVID-19 vaccine mandates
The council is also considering an ordinance that would make a vaccine mandate illegal.
February 15, 2022 at 1:59AM
The ordinance, if it takes effect, also would make it a misdemeanor to deny employment or prevent access to city services based on one's vaccination status. It also would extend to any future health emergency.
"This covers anything down the road," said Council Member Chelsee Howell. "I don't want the council member from Ward 2 making medical decisions for my next-door neighbor or the people a block over. It puts teeth behind things."
The ordinance still needs a second reading and approval by the council before it would be amended into city code.
Before introducing the ordinance, the council on a 5-2 vote approved a resolution opposing government-mandated vaccines and that inoculation should be a voluntary personal decision.
Neither pieces of legislation specifically addresses masks, but the resolution states the city will "neither prohibit nor require the wearing of face masks" on city property or while interacting with city employees or third parties such as contractors.
Council Member Dan Specht supported the resolution and ordinance saying it would help ensure nondiscrimination. The resolution stands up for individual rights and liberties, he said.
"It is not for city government to tell somebody how to handle medical decisions," he said. "We are not forcing anybody to have treatment."
Mayor Mark Kuzma voted against both the resolution and ordinance, saying neither were necessary. Council Member Matt Woestehoff had concerns about enacting the ordinance.
"In practice, if a staff member were to require an employee to say get a tetanus shot after an injury with metal, that employee would potentially be committing a misdemeanor," Woestehoff wrote in an e-mail.
The resolution passed after the council spent the past few months crafting language stating the city's opposition for required vaccinations.
Howell, however, said she was more enthusiastic about the ordinance than the resolution.
"There has been so much discrimination in our state," she said. "If you look at Minneapolis and St. Paul and how employees have been treated. Discrimination is never acceptable. I believe our job in representing our neighbors and people in the community is to say I trust you enough to know what [is best] for you and your family."
The pilot was the only person inside the plane, and was not injured in the emergency landing, according to the State Patrol.
