LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — Over the past few days, leaders in some counties across the state have said that they will defy Governor Wolf's reopening plan and reopen on their own.
The Lackawanna County commissioners say they won't be doing that but that doesn't mean they're happy with still being in the red phase.
"My family business, it's over 75 years old and quite honestly, if it survives this year, it'll be a miracle," said Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak.
Chermak says his family's car dealership is in the same boat as many businesses in the county. He says despite Lackawanna County still being in the state's COVID-19 red phase, he believes the county could start reopening.
"Now it's our turn, we see what's going on here. We've learned a lot, we know that we need to social distance and wear a mask and we can function, and we can function safely. There's a lot of businesses that were closed that probably didn't ever need to be closed," said Chermak.
Lackawanna County will not join other counties in the state that are choosing to defy Governor Wolf's reopening plan, but both Chermak, a Republican, and his Democratic Counterparts agree that any reopening needs more local control.
"If people can open their business in a responsible manner, they should be allowed to. We can't defy the governor's order, we can't risk the repercussions of that, we would wish that the office, the governor's office, would listen to us a little bit more," said Lackawanna County Commissioner Jerry Notarianni.
The commissioners also say they've received limited information from the Department of Health since the state government has taken the reigns on reopening. Another reason, Commissioner Debi Domenick says, Lackawanna County can't risk reopening too soon.
"We are given limited information, so we have to rely on Governor Wolf and we have to assume he's doing what's best for us and what's best for Pennsylvania residents," said Commissioner Domenick.
One of the things Lackawanna County commissioners say they can do during this time is to try to connect business owners with resources. They're helping closed businesses find grants that will hopefully help them to reopen whenever that might be.