Mount Vernon City Hall will open and close an hour earlier, starting July 6. The new hours for city hall are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The current hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. do not help people who work outside of Mount Vernon, city administrator Chris Nosbisch said.
“With our 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours, we’re not open long enough for people who have to drive to work to accomplish any business at city hall during the week,” Nosbisch said. “We’re not open early enough or late enough in the evening to cater to those people who work out of town.”
Nosbisch noted that public works employees also currently work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. That meant that any time people come in to pay a water bill after 4 p.m. to reverse a water shutdown, a member of the public works crew was coming in for overtime hours to turn water back on.
Nosbisch said he expects that the 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. hour might be the busiest time for city hall staff after the switch.
North Liberty, Tipton, Anamosa and Springville have similar hours.
Staff could adapt their hours to be able to accommodate meetings that also take place later in the day, Nosbisch said.