Waterville officials are considering instituting a four-day workweek for City Hall employees. Above, Esta Knapik of Waterville and her dog, Emma Lee, a 16-year-old poodle, walk June 19 near the main entrance to Waterville City Hall at 1 Common St. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel file

WATERVILLE — Officials are considering instituting a four-day workweek for Waterville City Hall employees and extending their daily hours to 10.

Those who support the change said it would help recruit and retain good workers, give the public more opportunity to do business at City Hall before and after regular business hours and help boost employee morale.

Beyond that, being open only four days would have an environmental impact because it would decrease the number of days people drive to City Hall at 1 Common St. and reduce by about 20% the building’s use of heat and utilities, according to city officials.

City Manager Bryan Kaenrath and Bobbi-Jo Green, the city’s human resources director, pitched the idea Tuesday night to the City Council.

Kaenrath said the world has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, the nature of work schedules has evolved as a result and many municipalities have moved to a four-day workweek. Many of those seeking employment are interested in a four-day workweek, he said, or a hybrid situation where they also work from home.

Waterville is losing good people to more attractive opportunities, according to Kaenrath, and the city over the past month has lost two good employees in the finance and code enforcement offices to positions that offered remote or hybrid flexibility.

“It is exceedingly competitive out there for municipal employees,” he said.

South Portland and Gorham went to a four-day workweek in 2023, and Lewiston changed to a four-day workweek in September.

Councilors voted 5-2 on Tuesday to approve a proposed amendment to the city’s personnel ordinance that would change the workweek from five to four days, and they must take a second vote to finalize it.

City Hall is now open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday. With the change, the hours would be 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, with employees having a half-hour for lunch.

The change for City Hall would not affect employees in the Public Works or public safety departments, which would be considered later for possible schedule changes, according to Kaenrath. While there is no firm plan to implement a new schedule, city officials have proposed making the change Jan. 1.

Councilors Ken Gagnon, D-Ward 5, and Tom McCormick, who is unenrolled and represents Ward 7, said they oppose the change, with Gagnon arguing the proposed change would benefit the city administration, but not the public.

“I think this is a terrible idea,” Gagnon said.

Gagnon said workers might leave city employment for reasons other than the work schedule, and no one has studied why they leave. He said he would want to see a report on that before making a decision to approve a schedule change.

“I don’t think that this has been well thought out,” he said.

Kaenrath said employees were surveyed for their thoughts, and there was “near unanimous support and great interest and excitement to do this with our staff, which is a great moral piece.”

“There is 99.8% interest from our employees to do something like this,” he said.

The primary reason the city is looking at the change is to keep pace with the market and what Waterville’s municipal peers are doing, he said.

Councilors Thomas Klepach, D-Ward 3, Flavia DeBrito, D-Ward 2, and Brandon Gilley, D-Ward 1, said they favor the change.

Klepach said the city needs top-quality personnel, which makes it run like a top. Without strong employees, he said, the city falls on its face.

DeBrito said she worked four days a week at a previous job, and it was beneficial because she could use Fridays for medical and other appointments for herself and her children. It is also crucial for people to take time for themselves in a world where concern about mental health is on the rise, she said.

“I do see this as a way to take care of our staff,” DeBrito said, “so I’m totally in favor of it.”

Gilley followed by saying work-life balance is important, as is being able to have a designated day for personal needs.

More and more municipalities are changing to a four-day workweek, according to Kaenrath.

At Waterville City Hall, Tuesday is the busiest day in terms of doing the public’s business, he said, with Monday the next busiest day and Friday the third busiest.

Dresden, Newport, Oakland, Pittsfield, Pittston and Winslow now close their town office Friday.

Other municipalities whose offices are closed Friday include Bath, Belfast, Biddeford, Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland, Falmouth, Lisbon, Sanford, Scarborough, Windham and Wiscasset.