The City of Jackson’s Administrative Hearings Bureau (AHB) is resuming in-person meetings for the month of August. These will be the first in-person public meetings the City is allowing since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March.
The AHB is a City-run court that reviews and prosecutes City ordinance violations. A main focus of the bureau is working with residents to resolve blight issues. No in-person or virtual AHB meetings have been held since the March shutdown.
The bureau is resuming its Aug. 12, 19 and 26 meetings with in-person hearings at Jackson City Hall. Officials determined it would be very difficult to hold virtual AHB meetings due to the heavy caseload and participants who may not have phone or internet access.
To help mitigate COVID-19 concerns, the bureau is instituting strict social distancing rules and making face coverings mandatory during hearings. Cases have been arranged to allow for social distancing and capacity limits. “Since the Administrative Hearings Bureau started in 2005, it’s done tremendous work to help improve our neighborhoods through code enforcement,” said Public Information Officer Aaron Dimick. “We’re looking forward to having hearings resume safely so Jackson can continue to look its best.”
Any future changes to AHB meetings will be posted on the City’s website, cityofjackson.org. Jackson City Council meetings, along with all other board and commission meetings will continue to take place virtually until further notice.