Hillsborough County is relocating more than a thousand county employees during the Republican National Convention. You'll still be able to get permits or pay tickets - it just won't be at the usual downtown Tampa locations.
An estimated 65,000 people are making their way into Tampa during the convention, and that means many county employees will be making their way out.
Deputy County Administrator for Public Safety and Community Services, Sharon Subadan, says the move out of downtown offices is due to traffic, parking and safety concerns. But she says, there is a bonus... it's also good practice for hurricane evacuations.
"If there is a major weather event in the Tampa area where storm surge is expected, we would have to relocate from downtown," she says. "And we have developed a plan on how to do that, but we have never actually exercised the plan. So this is going be an opportunity for us to test our disaster preparedness as well."
Relocations will include the County Administrators office, the Clerk of Court, and Tax Collector. The convention will also put on hold any county trials, hearings or other court events.
To find a full list of the departments and services being relocated, you can go to the Hillsborough County website.
