ROGERS CITY — Rogers City officials’ work on the city’s 2019-20 budget and plans for several other projects have “come to a grinding halt” under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The Rogers City City Council in February attended a workshop to go over the budget with City Manager Joe Hefele and with the city’s department heads, Mayor Scott McLennan said. A subsequent budget workshop was planned for March, but was canceled.

McLennan said Hefele will now present the council with a finalized budget later this month. The new fiscal year begins July 1 and a budget hearing is planned for May. A $1.7 million general fund budget was presented to the council at its workshop in February, but McLennan said a couple things have since been added to the budget.

A couple of street projects planned for a couple blocks of North 1st Street and a few streets located off of South 3rd Street on the south end of town were postponed “at least for the foreseeable future,” McLennan said.

“We’ve been focusing on other things, like closing playgrounds and making sure we’re following the executive orders,” he said.

One Presque Isle County resident is confirmed to have COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, District Health Department No. 4 reported Monday. Zero cases were reported in Alpena, Montmorency, or Alcona counties as statewide cases surged past 17,000, with more than 700 deaths.

Rogers City officials have reduced operations to only allow essential services, McLennan said. All playgrounds and basketball courts are closed to the public. Officials have also decided not to set out any benches or portable toilets and have closed public bathrooms, the mayor said.

“Quite frankly, the only thing we are encouraging in terms of people being out would be to walk, keep your distance from other walkers, to wave, to smile, to lift people’s spirits, but do it from a distance,” he said.

The city’s Police Department and Department of Public Works continue to work, but with adjustments. Staff at the public works department, for example, are working limited hours and are assigned jobs that can be completed by a single worker.

McLennan said Hefele reports to the city offices each day, but office staff continue to work from home. No staff have been laid off, he said.

McLennan said he canceled the City Council’s first scheduled meeting for April but has not canceled its second meeting for the month. The city’s charter requires the council to hold at least one meeting per month.

“We’re taking a look at the technology aspect,” he said. “We’re taking a look at Zoom and potentially another platform to have a meeting. We’ll confine the meeting to essential items only.”

Approval of next year’s budget could be among the essential items considered, he said.

Several of the city’s board and commission meetings were also canceled for the month because of state and federal directives, including meetings of the Harbor Advisory Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, and Downtown Development Authority.

The DDA had planned to take action on a new tax that would allow them to hire an executive director who would also act as the Main Street manager, and to redevelop a parking lot at the corner of North Erie Street and East 4th Street.

A Main Street manager would be hired if the city is selected for the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s Michigan Main Street program, which would help revitalize the city’s downtown. McLennan said those plans have been put on hold, though the Main Street program continues as a grassroots effort in the community.