PAGE – Visitors were forced to spend their time and money here during the last two government shutdowns, said Mayor Levi Tappan.

“We won’t know the full effect (until) we get our tax report (this month),” Tappan told the Lake Powell Chronicle, “but the town is still full of tour buses.”

Tappan says he has been lobbying for the creation of an economic-tourism director position that can help the city navigate the local economy and work with local tour operators. This idea however is up to the city council members, who are not unanimous on this subject.

The partial U.S. government shutdown is just over three weeks old with no indications of an end deal in sight. Every second counts for Americans caught in the middle.

About 800,000 federal government employees – either furloughed or working without pay indefinitely, reduced staffing at national parks to skeleton levels, and closed down popular museums – in all 50 states have been affected and many of those workers on Friday received a $0.00 paycheck. Some turned to social media to share their first pay stubs under the shutdown, which began Dec. 22.

A standoff between President Donald Trump and Democratic congressional leaders over how to address unauthorized immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border led to the partial government shutdown.

With negotiations at a standstill, Trump threatened to keep key agencies closed for months or even a year if Democrats don’t agree to allocate money for his $5.7-billion border wall. Trump has even said that he would declare a national emergency to bypass Congress and draw off billions from the federal government to build the wall.

But as the lockdown continues into its fourth week, travelers visiting the country and the Lake Powell area will feel the squeeze as some places, such as the Carl Hayden Visitor Center, are closed.

 “It’s very unfortunate that our international visitors save up for a once in a lifetime trip to the United States, to come see our beautiful national parks and they’re locked out,” Tappan said. “One of the many reasons like this that I advocate local control and why Horseshoe Bend remains open.”

Tappan says this is why the city needs strong partnerships with the National Park Service and with the Bureau of Reclamation.

“And representation from Page,” he added. “As you know we are surrounded by federal land that his beyond our control, but affects our residents, business owners, and our economy.”

The partial government shutdown is likely to slow the economy, inconvenience millions of Americans, and leave both Trump and Congress with a political bruise as government shutdowns are more expensive than keeping it open. The shutdown has also lessened the daily flood of data from federal agencies, affecting everyone from investors and farmers to researchers and journalists, including the Chronicle.