Paris extends local disaster declaration and rolls back expanded youth curfew

The Paris City Council approved an ordinance May 11 extending the mayor's declaration of local disaster related to the COVID‑19 public‑health emergency and rolling back an expanded youth curfew to its pre‑pandemic hours, staff said.

Miss Harris told the council that maintaining a local emergency declaration is required for eligibility for certain state and federal reimbursements and aid: “In order to be eligible for certain reimbursements, and aid from the state and federal government, you have to have an emergency declaration in place,” she said.

The ordinance keeps the disaster declaration in effect and returns the youth curfew to its prior hours — weekdays 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. and weekends midnight to 7 a.m. Council discussed the limits of local authority under the governor’s orders and noted that more restrictive local orders would likely be preempted by state action; the extension was adopted to preserve funding eligibility and allow voluntary local protective measures focused on vulnerable residents.

Council voted to adopt the ordinance as presented.

The action preserves the city's ability to seek reimbursement and other support tied to an active local disaster declaration while narrowing the curfew compared with earlier emergency orders.