The Village of Williamsville has been fined $300 by the Erie County Department of Health for the "willful violation" of mask orders at their board meeting last week.
The fine was issued Jan. 12 and the village has until Feb. 5 to pay it.
The village released a statement on Tuesday saying they will hold a special board meeting, with no public comment, on Thursday in order to "approve the hire of outside counsel to represent the village in a pending legal matter with the Erie County Department of Health."
WBFO has been covering the Village of Williamsville's mask mandate situation since December.
At a Jan. 10 meeting in which the board approved a resolution opposing any further county and state mask mandates, Mayor Deb Rogers could be seen without a mask and several village residents spoke unmasked during the public comment period.
Trustees Christine Hunt, Eileen Torre and David Sherman were masked throughout the meeting, while Trustee Matt Carson could often be seen with his mask below his chin throughout the voting.
A county health department spokesperson said the Village of Williamsville violated both 10 NYCRR 2.60 and Erie County Executive Emergency Orders relating to mask wearing-face covering.
"For the safety of participants and audience members at Village of Williamsville board meetings, our department hopes that the Village Board takes this matter seriously," the spokesperson said in an email. "NY rule and regulations (NYCRR) apply to facilities across the state, just as Erie County Emergency Orders apply to facilities within Erie County, including in the village of Williamsville."
