Several Effingham County office will begin closing on Fridays next month as the county embarks on its four-day, 10-hour-a-day, work week.

 

By a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Reggie Loper casting the lone objection, commissioners approved going ahead with the initiative. The 4-10 week will go into effect July 12 and run through Nov. 12.

 

Hours of operation for the 4-10 work week are 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Thursday.

 

“There are other communities that are doing this,” said County Administrator David Crawley.

 

County offices that will close on Fridays beginning in two weeks include the county administrative offices, tax assessors, tax commissioner, recreation, public works, water and wastewater offices, sanitation, GIS, zoning, information technology, environmental health and building inspection.

 

The county buildings that will close for the 4-10 work week include the administrative complex, the county annex, recreation office, probation office, public works office and the water and wastewater office. Animal control will close partially, and some departments will remain on call.

 

Offices that will remain open on Fridays include magistrate, probate, state and superior courts, the district attorney, Extension, solicitor, elections, fire department, Effingham Prison, Effingham Jail, EMS, the county health clinic, 911 center and Forestry.

 

Crawley said the county will keep a track of measurables in order to determine how effective the program is.

 

“We will track utility usage in comparison and fuel usage,” he said. 

 

Tax Commissioner Linda McDaniel said the new hours may allow more people to use their office, telling county commissioners they often have people waiting at 5 p.m.

 

“We get very few calls, but we get busy late in the day,” she said. “The realtors who call are few and far between because so much of our information is online.”

 

Commissioners also will get a proposal to change the hours at the landfill. Currently, it’s open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. But Connie Burns, county sanitation director, wants to open on Thursday and close it on Monday because there is little activity on Monday and there is more usage of the landfill toward the end of the week.