Carthage City Council approves mask mandate, mayor vetoes ordinance

In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, a face mask mandate was approved by a 6-4 vote by Carthage City Council members Wednesday afternoon but it appears that will not be taking effect after an overriding vote by Mayor Dan Rife.

This ordinance had many similarities to one that the Carthage Council voted down in July, but a rise in hospitalizations in the city and surrounding areas led city leaders to bring it back up for discussion after healthcare leaders sent a letter asking for help in dealing with the surge in the virus.

“The bill is passed by the council but it needs to be signed by the mayor. That is within his rights as the executive branch of our city to veto something, which means it’ll end up getting kicked back to council, and then they will need to overcome a 7 to 3 vote,” said councilman Ed Barlow, who was live-streaming the meeting on Facebook.

Again, this means a face mask mandate is NOT going into effect in the city of Carthage.