County going to 4-day work week on trial basis By John Hales Managing editor 7-23-08 MANTI—Beginning Monday, Aug. 4, most county offices will be open fewer days per week, but will be open for more hours on those days. Last week, Sanpete County Commissioners approved a resolution to move all but essential and court-related offices to a 4-day work week. The move follows suit with a program for state government offices announced by Gov. Jon M. Huntsman last month. In fact, said Commissioner Claudia Jarrett, “We’re almost forced into it because of what the Governor did.” According to the Governor’s plan, state-government offices will be open Monday-Thursday from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. No longer will they be open on Fridays, beginning Aug. 4. That means that on those closed Fridays, county offices “will not have access to any of the state systems,” Jarrett said. The governor’s program, called “Working 4 Utah,” has as its aim savings in energy costs. The idea is to save both the utility charges paid by taxpayers to keep offices open, as well as the fuel costs paid by state employees to commute to work. And while county employees might save a little gas money, too, the real consideration for them, Jarrett said, was the impact the move would have on service to the public. In a two-hour meeting prior to the commission’s decision, county employees debated the pros and cons of a 4-day work week. “We talked at length relative to service to the public. That was our concern,” Jarrett said. She indicated the consensus was that the change might just lead to better service, since extended hours would mean that working adults would have opportunities to do their business with the county without it interfering with work hours. For instance, Claudia mentioned that on any given day, people line up in the county treasurer’s office at about five minutes to 5 p.m.—late enough to be able to take some time from work, but hopefully early enough to do what they need to do before the treasurer’s office closes. “Most of the offices wanted to try it,” Jarrett said. According to the new schedule, the county assessor’s, auditor’s, building inspector’s, zoning inspector’s, recorder’s, treasurer’s and sheriff’s business offices will be open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. However, offices associated with courts will keep five-day-per-week hours. That means the county clerk’s and county attorney’s offices will remain open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and the Sanpete County Justice Court Offices will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The county’s work-week change is considered as being on a trial basis, but Commissioner Dwight Inouye knew already that he didn’t like it. “I think the public expects the public employees to be here on a regular work schedule. The rest of the world operates on that,” he said. “I think, simply, the Governor was wrong. It impacts everyone, and it was by decree. I think we’re forced to do it, but I personally object to it.” The county will review the 4-day work-week plan after December.