BOISE, Idaho — Boise City Council approved funds Tuesday to hire more security to enforce its mask mandate. The City of Boise started mandating masks inside city buildings again in July after a previous mandate had been lifted.
Now, the City says staff members are facing harassment from people who don't want to follow the rule. The funding will expand the City's security to be in all Boise Public Library branches and Idaho IceWorld.
It will also fund the City Hall Lobby Ambassador program. These ambassadors will help people navigate City Hall and remind people of the mask policy.
"Most of it will be around customer service. In the event that somebody comes in, doesn't like the mandate, doesn't want to abide by that, this team is able to manage that and keep our frontline employees really focused on providing the service they know how to provide and just keep that stress off," Sarah Borden, HR director for the City Of Boise, said.
The city said they're confident these resources will be able to manage any incidents.
A Boise Police Department spokesperson said BPD has responded to four calls in the last two months for incidents of someone not wanting to put on a mask. The incidents were at City Hall, the Boise Public Library's main location, the Cole and Ustick branch and the Hillcrest location.
