As Shelbyville continues to deal with Covid-19 and the ramifications of the virus, Shelbyville Mayor Tom DeBaun says while there were some successes with how the city dealt with the disease, there is still much work to be done. 

DeBaun told Giant FM the city of Shelbyville did "as well as it could" in 2020 as Indiana Code limited the city on just how much actual authority local leaders have in the midst of a pandemic. 

"Our role was to be a part of the bigger team in gathering and evaluating information and then determining what the best route would be for our facilities," DeBaun said. 

The mayor said city leaders also sent out as much information to the public as possible so the residents would be able to make some of the same decisions, as well as understand why the city was responding the way it did on several matters. Shelbyville also participated in several rounds of small business Covid relief in cooperation with the Office of Rural and Community Affairs to assist anyway it could.

There were some rough moments in 2020 for the city as a result of the pandemic, according to DeBaun. 

"It was unfortunate that we had to suspend some programming and not open some facilities, but I think those were the right decisions. Additionally, we did see some reduction in local tax collections, however, I believe the bigger concern will be mid 2021 and in 2022 based upon how income taxes are collected and distributed," DeBaun told Giant FM.

As the calendar has moved into 2021, DeBaun continues to keep an eye on Covid-19 and continues to offer the same message to citizens -- wash your hands and take the necessary steps to ensure safety. 

"My message is the same as it has been throughout the pandemic -- mask up, maintain the proper social distance and wash your hands frequently. In communicating with Major Health Partners, I don't know that we are at a crisis level yet, but it won't take long to get there if people aren't diligent with these protocols," DeBaun said.