By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


A Livingston County Commissioner is asking local businesses that are staying open during these times to reassess whether they are truly essential.

Commissioner Gary Childs is asking all non-essential businesses to follow the Governor’s executive order that was signed Monday and cease in-person operations until the order is lifted. Childs says there are a quite a few small businesses that are trying to make themselves “essential” and that they could be prolonging the length of the order by refusing to close doors. He told WHMI that while we all believe our jobs are important, and they are for our livelihoods and families, to him, essential services mean health and safety come first.

Childs is a small business-owner himself and said that he expects all businesses to be taking a hit and that it will be hard times for quite a while come. But now is not the time panic. He said, “I don’t believe businesses have to panic just yet. If it’s 3-4-5 weeks, we all have major decisions we’re gonna have to make to keep our businesses viable during these times. “It’s sad that there are some looking for loopholes and doing everything they can-and I appreciate that, but I think it’s unfortunate at the same time. I think we should just try to all work together.”

The Commissioner continued, saying that if businesses are going to deem themselves essential when they are not, maybe they’ll get the message if people boycott and don’t use their services. Childs asks everybody to be safe in this, saying that if we are cautious and do what we are asked to do, maybe we’ll get through this quicker. He said it won’t be overnight, and it’s going to be painful for everybody, but it appears that it needs to be done, so he, for one, is going to do it, too.