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Closing City Hall For A Day Shuts Door In Residents' Faces

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 18, 2008

Bradenton and Coconut Creek close city hall on Fridays.

Margate and North Miami plan to close city hall on Fridays, too.

Now Port Richey is considering a work week that, if approved by city council, would shutter city hall on Fridays there as well.

Increasingly, municipal governments are moving to a 10-hour, four-day work week to save operating costs and commuting costs for employees.

But while these moves are internally popular with workers, city governments are missing the point of why they exist - to serve citizens.

How, exactly, does a "closed for business" sign serve the worker who tries to pay a fine on his Friday lunch break?

How does it serve the businesswoman who finally found time to drive downtown for a permit?

How does it serve the property owner who needs access to government records to solve a problem?
Floridians need government to be more accessible, not less. With the taxes we pay, city hall should answer the bell when citizens ring during normal business hours.

It's understandable why some mayors want to move to a 10-hour, four-day work week for everyone but public safety and emergency personnel, where the work is 24/7.

And the move might make sense for certain jobs, so long as productivity doesn't decline and the front door isn't shuttered.

But serving the public doesn't lend itself to a four-day week. And as business people will tell you, it's the customer - in this case, the citizen - that counts.

Government isn't the private sector, where employers who pay the bills have more flexibility. Government is a constant in our lives, paid for by property taxes and fees for services. Given who's paying the bill, the service should be there when needed.

Cost savings can be achieved by other means. Turn off lights that aren't needed, install low-flow toilets and adjust the thermostat up or down, depending upon the time of year.

If the idea is to help workers cope, that can be done, too. The Kissimmee Utility Authority and city of Apopka offer staggered four-day work weeks for some jobs, without shutting government down for a day.

Closing the doors on Fridays doesn't serve citizens.

Local governments should resist the temptation.

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