11-13-2024 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO:Mayor Fischer and Members of the City Council FROM:Heidi Heller, City Clerk/HR Manager DATE:November 13, 2024 RE:Permanent Change to City Hall Hours ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED Consider a change to public lobby hours at City Hall on Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. BACKGROUND In July, the City Council approved a modification of the lobby hours for the general public access at City Hall from Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Fridays. The proposed change to public lobby hours was approved on a trial basis, and the City Council expressed a desire to review the impact before considering any long-term changes in the fall. City staff suggested this change due to limited customer walk-in traffic on Friday afternoons and lower staff levels on Fridays making it difficult to provide safe staffing levels during this time frame. In addition, most city business processes are now available and conducted online, including all permits and licenses. This change to public hours of operation does not reduce the total number of hours that city staff are scheduled to work. By closing city hall to the public at noon, city hall staff can focus on projects without the need to maintain someone at the front counter. Staff members working on Friday afternoons continue to respond to phone calls, voicemails, and emails and will make arrangements to meet if a customer needs to meet in person. The staff has not received complaints from the public about this change, and it is working well internally. Many cities have permanently implemented half-day Fridays including Vadnais Heights, North Oaks, Delano, Carver, Corcoran, Dayton, Otsego, Rogers, St. Michael, Waconia, and Wayzata. Additionally, Mounds View, Albertville, Bayport, and Excelsior are closed all day on Fridays. The difference is that these cities have slightly longer hours during the other days of the week, so their staff only work half-days or not at all on Fridays. Little Canada staff has discussed this option but have not seen a demand for City Hall to be open earlier than 8:00 am or after 4:30 pm, especially since all permits and licenses are currently available online. If the Council approves the changes permanently, staff will communicate the changes in public lobby hours through various channels including the website, social media, Friday Update, and the Le Petit Newsletter. The announcement will inform customers that staff will continue working onsite from 12:00 to 4:30 pm on Fridays and how staff can be reached.