MT. VERNON — The COVID-19 outbreak worldwide is not just causing a public health crisis, it is also causing a rapid economic downturn, and local municipalities are having to wait and see what the final damage will be to their overall tax revenue.

Mt. Vernon City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel says the city could lose out on over $1 million in total tax revenue based on conservative estimates. But right now, she says it is important to keep vital services running.

Bechtel says the city is making contingency plans for how to cover the loss of revenue in the city’s budget. She hopes to see help from the state and federal levels to cover some of the city’s costs from the outbreak.