CHENANGO COUNTY – Last week, Chenango County Public Health Director Marcus Flindt and President and CEO of Commerce Chenango Kerri Green discussed the process for how eligible businesses become certified to re-open as a part of New York Forward, a plan to reopen New York.

According to Green, as businesses start to re-open they first need to go through a government regulated self certification process. The process includes first reviewing the summary of guidelines the state has put in place for each industry, then an affirmation will need to be completed stating that the business owner has read and agrees to abide by the guidelines.

These guidelines, which are listed by industry, can be found by visiting https://forward.ny.gov/industries-reopening-phase.

After the affirmation has been completed, business owners then need to create a safety plan that details how they plan on following the guidelines.

“This safety plan is your way to show, if the question was asked, how you've implemented safety measures,” said Green. “It goes through what you need to do as a business owner to make sure your business is health and safety ready for employees and customers.”

Every business needs to have this safety plan on hand in their businesses location. If a business has more than one location, they will need to provide a safety plan for each location.

At this time, if a business was deemed essential before the re-opening, they do not need to go through the entire verification process. Currently the Department of Health is just asking essential businesses to have a safety plan in place.

According to Flindt, safety plans should include “The Safe Six”. These are the six essential areas that the state is looking for in the businesses safety plan. The six areas are preparing the building, prepare the workforce, control access, create a social distancing plan, reduce touch points and increase cleaning, and communicate with confidence.

During the Commerce Chenango webinar's, 'Phase One Reopening Guidelines and Strategies' Flindt covers in detail how a business can follow each section of the safety plan properly. To view the video, visit https://youtu.be/R-lww-NqgQ8.

Flindt said if an employee or customer notices that a business is not complying with their safety plan, that a reported complaint will eventually be received by the Department of Health.

“I do have enforcement authority, but I don't want to use that. I want to partner with all of you. We've all been through a terrible time here. I want to do everything that I can to help each of you get up and running effectively,” said Flindt.

Flindt said that if a complaint is received the first action the Department of Health will take is a phone call to the business to discuss their safety plan and see if any changes need to be made. He said as a last resort a business may be fined if they continue to not comply with the safety plan.

Complaints can be reported by calling 1-833-789-0470 or visiting myliscence.custhelp.com/app/ask.